A Curse of Blood
by MonksyD
Summary: Reimu awakens from a drunken sleep with a pounding headache and a mess to clean up. She sighs and takes note of something. Is her skin...paler? Nah, probably nothing. Although as the sun rises, she walks out of the shrine, the clatter of yen in her donation box music to her ears. But then the rays of light hit her and the sunlight...it, it burned her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Realisation

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

A pounding headache is what dragged Reimu back to consciousness, an after effect from the...party she'd had last night. Damned oni, always imposing themselves. Although Reimu wasn't exactly innocent in this incident either, she did accept a bet to see who could drink more...from Yuugi. That was, really stupid thinking about it more. She shook her head and gazed out of the shrine from where she was lying. Dawn was fast approaching, whelp, time from more sleep. She closed her eyes for a second before a wave of nausea hit her, vomit fast approaching behind it. Reimu jumped to her feet and quickly glanced around, spotting her mop's bucket. That'll do! She barely reached it in time to catch her alcoholic stomach backwash, collapsing onto the floor after with a thud and a groan.

 _I hate everyone and thing..._ she whispered in her head.

She staggered back to her feet and looked around at the shrine's main room. Cups, bottles, paper...vomit. It was, disgusting. Reimu grimaced.

"I don't wanna deal with this…" she moaned.

After another minute, she sighed and grabbed her broom. If she didn't start, it'd never get down. As she started though, she noticed that her neck had a creak in it that refused to fade. She rubbed her neck as she swept, noticing her arm looked a bit...pale. Probably nothing, the sun hadn't even risen yet, the light was crap.

Ignoring both, Reimu spent a good hour cleaning up all the trash, the main problem coming from her nausea and the fact that her bucket was full of vomit. The shrine smelled of a seedy bar after hours. And it pissed her off. By the time she'd finally cleaned the room to an acceptable level, the sun was beginning to rise properly, the light slowly leaking into the room. She grumbled at the sight, realising that all chance of sleep was gone. She sighed and walked into a side room. Although it was more a supply closet with selves of dried bean cakes, spare clothes, brooms, mops...dried? Reimu stepped backwards and grabbed one of the cakes, noticing the paper keeping it fresh...ish was undone on the side, ruining it. They...were all like that. Reimu's eye twitched.

"They're...they're ruined! Dried!...Moldy! Grra! Damn it! That's a week's worth of this stuff wasted! How?!" then a thought popped into her head.

" _ **Hey, can I have some food?!" Clownpiece yelled as Reimu attempted to calm a crying Sunny Milk.**_

" _ **What? Sure, whatever shuts you up!" Reimu yelled back.**_

 _ **What followed was a crashing sound that made made the two flinch.**_

" _ **What was that?!"**_

" _ **N-Nothing! Nothing at all, it's fine!" was the reply.**_

"Why didn't I check! It was Clownpiece! I trusted her, I'm an idiot!"

Reimu threw the spoiled food to the ground, the moldy cake effectively exploding into a crumbly mess of rot, surprising her. She hadn't thrown it that hard. It didn't matter anyway.

"I'll gonna make her clean this place til it shines like a mirror when I get my hands on her." she swore.

Shaking her head again, Reimu did what she originally planned on doing going into the room, she changed her outfit. Due to being too disgruntled, she failed to notice the scabbed cut on her wrist, or the unusual red glint of her eyes as she used a hand mirror to fix her ribbon. Reimu walked out to hear a sound that was quite rare indeed, the clattering of money into her donation box. Within an instant, her scowl disappears as she runs out to thank who ever came all this way to donate. But as she steps outside, she stopped as the sun hit her. And she screamed, jumping back. Burning! Pain! It was like she'd been lit on fire! She grabbed her arms, staggering further back. She shakily looked over them. Brown burns covered her exposed arms and most likely her face too. She gasped in air as the burning pain faded.

 _W-What was that?! Why...?_ before she could continue her thought, she spotted someone peeking around the side of the box's roof beams. She instantly turned away, hiding her burns.

"Emm, are you okay Miss Shrine girl, that was a loud scream…" A young girl asked, worried.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"You sure, that sounded like something really hurt you." Reimu could practically hear her raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm fine, I just stubbed my toe, I'm, I'm fine!"

After a few seconds, the girl nodded, Reimu hearing her hair move. No, her hearing was never that good...something was wrong.

"Well, hope you feel better!" she announced cheerily, leaving.

Reimu glanced down at her arms again, noticing the burns slowly changing back to her now pale skin. She ran back into the closet and grabbed her hand mirror and looked at herself. Fear was etched on her face, but what drew her eyes...were her eyes. Crimson red, almost glowing. Compared to her normal brown eyes, a drastic change.

"Wha-what's going on?!" she asked in fear.

She froze as she spoke, opening her mouth as wide as possible. Her canines were unnaturally long.

"Ahh...ahhh...AAAAHHHHH!" she screamed, dropping the mirror, the glass shattering.

"HOW! WHY! What the former hell happened to me?!" Reimu yelled, terrified "No, this isn't real, it can't be. Yeah, I got a donation, this is a dream! Ha hah. Yep, a dream...nightmare, don't care." Reimu denied, laughing, her eyes shrunk in shook.

But the sun had hurt earlier, pain wakes you up. It dawned on her, but she ignored it. After all, when did it happen? There wasn't anytime it could have happened...except when she was blind drunk, and in a drunken stupor, deep in sleep. She gulped down air, panic from the realisation she was suppressing leaking out. After a minute, she screamed. No warning, no build up. The fact of the matter just made her scream...and cry. As her voice started to go horse, there was a clatter on the roof. She turned to see Clownpiece hanging her head down, confused.

"Hey, why the screaming? Did you find the fire rat?" she asked with an impish smile.

"NO! I'm…! Fire rat?" Reimu stopped dead as she pondered what she meant.

No, that didn't matter!

"Clownpiece, go to the shed and get me an umbrella." Reimu ordered.

"Wha, no way, get it yourself."

"Listen to me you hellish imp fairy, you've ruined alotta food from what I just discovered. Unless you wish to sweep up this place and wash the vomit out of the mats, get me a thick umbrella!" she threatened.

Clownpiece's face fell as she jumped off the roof and flew off, returning after two minutes with a thick black umbrella. Reimu opened it and stepped outside, the sun being blocked by the thick hide. She turned to her fairy...roommate? Basementmate? Whatever.

"Watch the shrine til I get back. If Sunny and co show up, get them to help, if the idiot appears, tell her to leave. If Marisa pops in, tell her I'm busy and if Yukari appears, tell her to find me, fast." she listed off.

Clownpiece blinked twice before holding up her hand.

"Fairy's stay, witch leave, scary gap lady find you...got it!" she nodded counting the three on her hand.

"Uhhf good enough." Reimu sighed leaning forward and hopping, expecting to fly into the air.

She landed after a second, a cold sweat breaking out on her back. She couldn't fly...she couldn't feel her power at all. She swallowed.

 _Okay, this is, very bad. But, she'll know what to do. Maybe she even did this. I'm exterminate her and her mansion if she did._ Reimu swore internally, sprinting out of the shrine, umbrella in hand _I'm gonna kill whoever did this to me!_

* * *

AN: Fun fact, I wrote this over the course of two hours due to this idea plaguing me. I genuinely have been struggling to get this out of my head, it was stopping me from concentrating on the story I'm actually writing.

For some reason, the past month this idea has clung to my mind. What if Reimu got turned into a vampire. Don't know why. It resulted in me googling stories where it happened. I only got pictures of her dressed in Remilla's clothes though...for some reason. Has it been done, probably, I couldn't find it though.

I don't know when, or if I'll continue this. I promised at one point that I'd never make and then leave a story for dead, but I'm busy, too busy to write this. And I'm not a hyper super Touhou fan anyway. Played a few games and spin-offs, I enjoy them, just don't get mad if the characters are a bit off.

After writing this, I was like 'Good, done, now I can leave it be and forget about it.' Then I wanted people to read it. So I'm posting it, sorry if it's short, it was me just trying to get it out of my head.

Review, Pm, that stuff if you want, I'm going to bed.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Fear

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

Reimu ran as fast as she could, the umbrella blocking the sun that was struggling to pierce the trees on both sides of the path through the forest that lead away from the shrine. The air was oddly cold, a mist swirling around. Not that she cared, she just needed to get to that mansion. She glanced around as she ran further, stopping dead and ducking behind a tree as she spotted the girl from before, walking a bit in front of her. Then it dawned on her. Reimu had to get around the village...without flying.

 _Great, fantastic! Uhh, what am I gonna do?_ she wondered in her head.

It would be fine if everyone was asleep, but that girl who came to the shrine was proof enough that the at least some people where up. She could sneak around it, but if they spotted her then they'd wonder what she was doing.

"Okay, I could umm...go along the outskirts, hopefully only the shops and some random people are up. But then again, seeing me might make them come over because I never really go to visit the place." Reimu reasoned from under her tree.

No matter the solution, this would be annoying. And so much easier if she could just fly! She kicked the root of the tree, frustrated, and found that her foot went straight through it, the thick root shattering easily. It only served to piss her off more.

"Damn it! I'm not that strong!...I-I shouldn't be that strong…"

She shook her head. Getting angry won't solve this. She needed to be calm, and to get past the village. Reimu looked back to the path and saw the girl was gone. She rounded the tree and began running again.

* * *

Reimu escaped the thick tree line and was met with two sights. One, the human village in the distance. And two, Kourindou to the side of the path, shaded by the thinning trees.

"Hmm...I wonder…"

Reimu turned and ducked into the shop, closing her umbrella. The first thing that happened was she tripped over a weird metal box, crashing into a table. The junk on it clattered to the ground, causing someone to jump out from behind a counter.

"Huh?! I'm up! I'm up. Hello, welcome toooo...oh, it's just you." Rinnosuke yelled before falling back behind the counter.

"Wha…? Hey, get up!" Reimu yelled.

Rinnosuke rose up from the ground again and cracked his neck before sighing.

"(Sigh) Okay, so, what can I do for you?" he asked half-heartedly.

"Do you know a way around the village without flying or going on a big detour?" Reimu asked.

Rinnosuke raised an eyebrow.

"No…? Why?"

"Because I can't fly, and I can't let anyone see me."

"What, did something…" he noticed her eyes "Uhhh, your eyes are meant to be brown, right?"

Her response was to lift up her upper lip with a finger, exposing her new fangs.

"Oh...that's...not a good thing." he commented.

"Yeah, I know, that's why I need to sneak by so I can get to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and ask 'hey, what happened to me?!'."

"Hmm, well, judging by the light, it's still early morning, so not everyone would be awake. Your best bet would be to hang around the edge of the place. Just stay on the other side of fence. If you hurry, you might just miss everyone. And if you're spotted, hmm, you're out for a walk." he suggested.

"I could have come up with that. I thought you might have a better way." Reimu complained.

"Hey, I used to live and work there before moving out here. Why would I have to sneak around?" he rubbed his chin "Hey, didn't you have a friend that could make things invisible?" he asked.

"What? No, I don't know any...one...Ahhh! Ohh great! Sunny, I completely forgot about her power!" Reimu yelled clutching her head.

"Yeah, that fairy that lives around the shrine. Get her to help."

"Uff, no. I need to get to the mansion as soon as possible. I can't just run back to the shrine, grab her and drag her all the way back here."

"Reimu, it's either that, or trying to sneak. It's your choice. Now good morning." Rinnosuko finished before collapsing back onto a futon behind the counter.

"Hmm, fine. Well, time to put my stealth to the test." Reimu walked out of the shop opening the umbrella "What could go wrong?"

* * *

And thus began an unholy, somewhat cringey display of...stealth. If you could call it that. Reimu stuck to the edge of the village, ducking and dodging between trees and bushes. Her main problem though was the fact that, well, a large, black umbrella and a white and red outfit tends to lead to a drawing of the eye. Her, maneuvers too drew attention, attempts of rolling and jumping...it was a sight. Quite afew awake human easily noticed her and after witnessing the display, most chose to ignore her. It was easier then questioning what the shrine maiden was...attempting. The few that did wonder just settled for that the girl had snapped. Reimu jumped out of the final bush and sidestepped back onto the path.

"Ha hah! I did it! And I only got burned once...four time." she claimed to herself _Why didn't I just go get Sunny..._

She ignored her own displeased thoughts, but when Reimu was about to continue, a shout stopped her.

"Hey, Hakurei." she turned slightly to just spot Keine standing a bit behind her, arms folded.

She quickly turned back, avoiding eye contact.

 _Unn, damn it..._

"So, can I ask what you're doing? I've heard three different versions of the same story from the children about 'the funny shrine girl' in the last ten minutes." Keine questioned, unamused.

"I was, umm, just passing through…"

"Then why not fly, or walk through the village like a normal person. And it isn't raining. And finally turn and face someone when they're talking to to you!" she ordered grabbing Reimu's shoulder and spinning her around to face her.

Reimu nearly fell over from the sudden force and stumbled, her leg hitting the sunlight. She yelped in pain pulling it back under the shade. Keine cocked her head, noticing the burn.

"W-What…" she grabbed Reimu's arm and pulled her over, meeting her red eyes.

"N-No, let me go!" Reimu yelled pushing her away, the force throwing her back a few metres.

Keine stared, shocked for a second from the sudden force. Enough time for Reimu to start running.

"Wait, Reimu, wait! Keine yelled after her.

 _No, she can't see, she can't! I don't care about Rinnosuke knowing, he doesn't care. But no one else can know...they'll think I've become a Youkai, or a monster! I-I can't!_

She could hear Keine chasing her for a bit until the footsteps slowed and stopped, eventually only her own remaining. She continued to run for another minute before stopping, looking behind her. The human village was in the distance and she could see a figure standing a bit away from it. It turned and began walking back to the entrance.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you…" she apologised to the air, turning back to the path and continuing.

* * *

After a few more minutes, Reimu reached the misty lake, a thin layer of vapour already starting to form. She ran up the lake's shore, scanning the area. She'd never approached the mansion from the ground, she'd need a path. Unfortunately, just as she spotted the mansion to the right…

"Hi!" Cirno suddenly said landing on the umbrella and sticking her head under it.

The sudden weight made Reimu flinch before frowning.

"Uhh, go away, I'm busy." she stated as she shooed her off the umbrella.

"No you're not! You'd be shooting lasers at people if you were busy, so you're not busy." Cirno argued flying into the air.

"You idiot, I don't have time for this." Reimu muttered walking towards the mansion.

"Where are you going?" she asked floating down to her.

"Scarlet Devil Mansion."

"Huh, why? And why aren't you flyin'" Cirno asked landing on the ground in front of her.

"Oh for…(sigh) Cirno, my powers, are...broken. I'm going up to the mansion to see if...Patchouli knows how to fix them, okay?" Reimu 'explained'.

"Your powers can break?" a green haired fairy asked landing next to Cirno.

"Heh, my powers can't, because you can't break ice!...Wait…" Cirno stopped and frowned, looking almost confused.

"I don't think that's what she means."

"What? But if her power broke…" Reimu walked past the two, ignoring their slow descent into mental turmoil trying to figure out the problem. At least it would keep them busy. For a minute.

"Hey, come back!" Cirno and her fairy friend landed in front of Reimu again.

"Cirno, please, I don't have time for this." Reimu complained.

"But if we figure this out, we can help you fix it!" Cirno yelled happily.

"Then maybe you won't blast us if we annoy you…" her friend whispered.

"Or mess with you!" Cirno added.

Reimu's eye twitched. For some reason, the fairies were really starting to eat away at her patience. It was like, anger was bubbling up from inside her. From her blood. She shook her head, breathing out shakily.

 _Calm down, they're, trying to help, kinda._ She thought.

Then it hit her. Not an idea, a snowball...made of mostly ice. She fell over from the impact, dropping her umbrella. Reimu let out a shriek as the sun burned her, quickly grabbing the cover and shading herself.

"Did you even hear our idea?!" Cirno questioned stamping her foot, annoyed.

And that was it, Reimu snapped. Well, not really, but something did. She thought she heard something break in her head. She just felt, so angry.

"Cirno, just GO AWAY!" she yelled, her eyes shining a deep red, unknowingly summoning a red/purple sigil behind her. It launched a bolt of energy that struck Cirno in the chest, blasting a hole in her. She looked, surprised for a second as she staggered back, before bursting into light, her current form dead. Her friend...looked terrified.

"AHHHH!" she flew away, screaming.

"N-No, wait! I-I didn't mean to…!" but it was too later, the fairy was long out of earshot.

"I...I didn't...m-mean to…" she whispered, tears rolling down her face.

She didn't know how she did that, and that horrified her. What if she did that to some random human? Or youkai? She was lucky it was a fairy, they come back. Reimu clutched her head and cried under her umbrella. That thought scared her, so much. Why...why was this happening.

"Well, looks like you're having some trouble." she heard a familiar voice say.

She didn't look up as she heard them land and walk over. They crouched down.

"Reimu, look at me." she gentle ordered, if you could even call it that.

Reimu glanced up to see Yukari looking at her.

"I believe we should make haste to the mansion, especially after that."

"I-I didn't…"

"I know, all the more reason to hurry, yes." she interrupted.

She help Reimu to her feet and held out a hand, which Reimu took. The space behind her cut open, the gap being tied by two ribbons. She lead Reimu and as they entered, it closed.

* * *

AN: So, I've decided something.

I'm gonna alternate between this and my other story. And unlike the last time I said that, I'm going to do it. One chapter of this, then my other story, so on. This isn't dying yet. I can't just do that. Especially because it appears people find this idea interesting.  
Although these chapters will be short then my other stuff because...because.

Anyway, Reimu's having a bad time.

Review, Pm, that generally nature.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Sisters

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

The dining room was large, overly so for the few inhabitants of the massive mansion, ever more so due to the fact that only three people use it, and rarely together. The crimson interior spelt a clear picture for those few that saw it, the Mistress of this abode was a fan of bloody red...or that she simply thought it looked nice. And with her, warped view on certain topics and mannerisms, that guess wasn't unreasonable.

Remilia sat at the head of the large wooden table, a tea cup filled with her favourite red tea in front of her. Her head maid stood beside her, a neutral look on her face. They had been like this for several minutes, only the sipping of tea breaking the silence. As she finished, she sighed.

"Sakuya, do you find the peace we currently have, odd?"

"Whatever do you mean?" she answered, curious.

"Gensokyo is never calm for long, and yet nothing has happened of late."

"The shrine maiden is probably dealing with something as we speak. She likes incidents to be dealt with, subtly." Sakuya replied.

"Hmm, yeah, you're probably right."

As Remilia gestured for her cup to be refilled, she heard what sounded like fabric tearing, prompting her to gaze to to left. A slit in reality sat near the table, before it tore open fully, tying the edges with ribbons. An uncountable amount of eyes stared at her. She frowned.

"Huh, great, what does she want?" she asked herself, annoyed.

Yukari only visited for two reasons:

A) Something important or catastrophic was unfolding or,

B) She simply wished to annoy her and waste time.

It was usually the latter.

The youkai stepped out of her gap, but her hand held onto something still hidden within. She looked back and tugged at something, a person following out. The two raised an eyebrow at Yukari's partner, a downward gazing, dejected Reimu holding an umbrella. The two simply stood there, unmoving.

"...Okay, may I asked why you're here?" Remilia questioned.

"Indeed, especially as you choose to ignore the front gate, and the door." Sakuya added.

"Sorry to intrude on you so suddenly, but something urgent has arisen that I believe you are the best suited to deal with." Yukari pushed Reimu forward "Come now, you should be the one to tell her." she suggested to Reimu.

The girl just stood still for a few seconds before before swallowing.

"...do this…?" she whispered.

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Sakuya asked, Remilia nodding.

Her voice was near inaudible.

"Did you, do this?" she repeated, looking up and into the vampire's eyes.

Remilia was met with crimson eyes, eyes she knew all too well.

"Did you do this to me!?" she yelled, tears in her eyes, teeth grit.

Remilia saw fangs. She froze...simply stunned.

"Well, my lady, said it was quiet…" Sakuya joked.

* * *

After Remilia recovered, she ordered Sakuya to make more tea and asked her two guests to sit. After everyone was settled and the tea poured, Remilia turned to the two.

"So, to answer your question, no, I did not turn you Reimu, I haven't ever seen or talked to you in months."

"And I've only talked in passing to you once or twice by chance." Sakuya added.

"What about Flandre?"

"Heh he he, my sister? No, she's only allowed to leave the house with Sakuya, Patchy, or Marisa that one time. Although that was more kidnapping...is it kidnapping if the napped wishes to go but the guardian does not?" she wondered.

"I think so." Yukari answered.

"Hey, get on topic!"

"Okay, okay, it doesn't matter anyway, she doesn't know how to spread vampirism."

"What about that other vampire girl with the blood lake?"

"We don't talk about her." Yukari snapped.

"I thought she was dead?" Remilia wondered sipping her tea.

"If not you two then who did this!" Reimu slammed the table, cracking the wood and shaking everyone's cups.

"Hey, calm yourself! If you damage the table further you are paying for it's repair!" Sakuya warned.

"That's one of the problems! I shouldn't be able to nearly break a hardwood table with my bare hands! I can't use my powers! The sun hurts and I want this fixed now!" Reimu yelled, her new found rage boiling over again.

Her eyes began to glow as the same sigil as before appeared, launching a bolt of raw power. Yukari acted before anyone else, opening a gap that swallowed the bolt, closing just as fast. What sounded like an explosion came from outside.

"Hnnn...AHHHH! Again, I did it again! Fix this! Fix me, please!" she screamed grabbing her head, distraught, red and purple energy crackling around her body.

 _Just like Flan all those years ago..._ Remilia thought.

"Reimu, drink your tea and calm down. Losing control won't help." Remilia suggested "When you're calm and everyone is relaxed, we will go to see Patchouli. And then she'll find something important and everything will be fine, okay?"

After a few seconds, the pulses of energy weakened and Reimu gave a shaky breath.

"(sigh) Y-Yeah...yes...you're right...sorry." she breathed the last part.

Reimu grabbed the tea and drank most of it in one go. It tasted a bit off to her. Somewhat...metallic. A bit meaty? Coppery? Whatever it was, it made Reimu almost gag after a second. She looked down at the tea. A deep red, and a bit viscus. Weird. Although, it did make her fatigue she had been building up fade away.

"Uhh, what type of tea is this…?"

"Blood." Remilia stated offhandedly.

"...What…"

"Blood."

"Blood...I just drank...blood, in my tea."

"You're a vampire, it's our thing." Remilia shrugged.

At first, Reimu just sat there, ridged. Sakuya could have sworn that Reimu's eyes turned to that blue screen that had appeared when Rinnosuko attempted to show off the new 'coputter' he had found recently and got working with the help of that green haired shrine girl. Then she collapsed, having fainted.

"Maybe a bit too soon?" Yukari commented.

"Heeey! Why is everyone yelling?" A new voiced joined in.

The group turned to the little blond girl that had wandered in, ragged teddy bear in hand. She rubbed her eye, tired.

"Oh, sorry Flan, we didn't mean to wake you up."

"I could hear you in my room, what did you expect?" she pouted.

The young girl looked around and spotted Reimu on the floor.

"Is that Marisa's friend? Why is she on the floor?"

"Reimu fainted because your sister asked me to gave her scarlet tea without telling her." Sakuya answered.

"That stuff is for vampires though." Flandre said, tilting her head.

"Well, someone made our local shrine maiden a vampire." Remilia stated, shrugging.

Flandre stood still for a second before her previous pout was replaced by a massive grin.

"Really?! YAY! That means I have a new sister!" she yelled throwing her bear into the air.

She sped over to Reimu, picking her up and hugging her tight. Yukari could hear bones crack from the force.

"Lady Flandre, that's not how it-" "It is!" Flandre cut off the maid "Patchouli said that only vampires can make more vampires. So that means she has to be related to us! Come on! Let's go play!" she finished, dragging Reimu's limp body away.

After the two left, Sakuya sighed.

"I thought she didn't know how to make vampires, hmm?" Yukari glared at Remilia.

"Patchy's is going to be in trouble later…" Remilia growled.

The one thing Patchouli wasn't meant to tell her...amazing.

"Well then, shall we go to the library?" Sakuya suggested.

* * *

Flandre dragged Reimu all the way back to her room, the poor girl getting friction burns on her arms and face as they went. She also got a few bruises from being dragged down a flight of stairs. Not that the jeweled vampire noticed, regeneration hides accidental physical trauma well. Flandre kicked her door open and threw Reimu onto her bed...well, into the wall behind her bed before falling onto it. The sudden shock was finally enough to stir Reimu from her stupor, although the universal pain across her body made her wish she was still asleep. Wait, why was she asleep?

"Ehh, wha...where am I?" she asked sitting up, the world spinning.

"We're in my room!" Flandre yelled jumping onto the bed, smiling.

"Why am I here, I was talking to sister about something kind of important." Reimu commented, getting off the bed, before collapsing, noticing her leg was mangled.

It strangely didn't hurt, until it started healing. Then it was nightmarish.

"Remilia can just talk to the weird lady, we should play! You're my sister now!"

"Huh?! No I'm not!" Reimu argued as she stood, healed.

"Yeah you are too! Patchouli said only vampires make more vampires, which means you're my sister now." Flandre shot back.

"What, so you did this to me?!"

"No, I don't know how to do that. But it doesn't matter. Now I have a playmate that can't break, who isn't always busy!" Flandre announced happily "Come on, come on! Let's go all out! Danmaku fight!" a wave of energy pulsed out of her, Flandre readying herself.

"W-Wait, Flandre stop! I-I can't use my powers!" Reimu cried out, backing away.

The blond vampire looked upset for second before pouting, her magic petering out.

"Are you lying?"

"No...I'm not. Turning into this...I can't feel anything, except when I get angry. And I can't control it."

"Oh. I was like that too at first. Then I figured out how to use it all. But then I broke everything I touched. But now the spell card things make it so I can't blow everything up! I either don't use any power or all of it and spell thing stops people from exploding too much. So we just need to do that to you." Flandre explained.

"That sounds like a bad idea."

"Come on Reimu, come on come on! Let's see how much you can break." Flandre grabbed Reimu's hand with wide grin "I wanna see your new pretty patterns!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

The library of the Scarlet Devil mansion was large, far too large to fit within the walls of the mansion. Yet it existed, a tomb for knowledge, stored for later use, a use that would probably never come.

Alone near the front of the great expanse sat the lone reader of the untold thousands of books. Well, there was another, but she was currently in a bit of a bind.

"I...said...I...was...sorry!" Marisa apologised as Patchouli slammed the poor bound witch into the floor and roof repeatedly, not even looking at her, simply flicking her wrist up and down.

"Mmm, I know." the magician acknowledged, not caring.

The door to her library opening was enough to make her look up though, surprise on her face as she spotted the group.

As they approached, Marisa struggled.

"Hey, hag! Help me!" she pleaded.

"Stealing?" Yukari asked, Patchouli nodding.

"Continue."

"Wha-!? No way, not you too!" Marisa cried.

"Quiet now, the adults are about to speak." Patchouli shushed the witch, before flinging her over the rows of books.

A dull thud sounded after a minute and Patchouli snapped her fingers. A red haired girl in black landed next to her.

"Go make sure she isn't dead."

"Got it!" the devil yelled, flying off.

"So, what's the problem?" she asked turning to the group.

"Patchy, a simple question, can you cure vampirism?" Remilia asked.

She opened her mouth but then stopped, frowning.

"Hmm...not something I'd have expected you to ask." the girl stood and walked/shuffled over to the rows of books.

After a few minutes just thinking, she flew into the air and flew off down the rows, the group walking after. She stopped eleven rows down, hovering in front of several moth eaten books, clearly untouched for years. She grabbed one and pointed at others, the books animating and floating up to her. She began reading, before looking down.

"This may take a while, go fine the thief or something." she called down to them.

"Fine or find?" Sakuya asked.

"One, the other, both, don't care."

Remilia shrugged.

"Can't be helped I guess." she sighed.

* * *

Patchouli's assistant flew across the bookshelves, scanning for Marisa. Despite her being a thief, the devil thought being flung across the endless room and slamming face first into something was a bit much. Just a bit. Better her then herself anyway. She followed the arc the girl was thrown in and came to the sight she expected. Marisa, face up, knocked out, with a busted nose. She flinched at the girls nose, it was definitely broken. The devil landed next to the witch and crunch...what? The girl looked down, spotting red leaking out from beneath her shoe. A glass vial with a needle sat on the floor, the glass shattered from her foot. The red was coming from that. The devil looked around. Nothing, nothing, books, witch, books, eyes, darkness…

She whipped around suddenly and stared into the black, the eyes gone. Golden, piercing. But gone.

"I-Is...is anyone there?!" she questioned the corner.

Silence.

"If you are, you better come out!" she threatened.

Nothing.

"Hey, what are you yelling at?" Sakuya asked, rounding a corner.

"Oh, Miss Sakuya. It is nothing, I...just thought I saw something. But…" she shot into the dark, the pulse of magic lighting the area briefly "I was just seeing things." she added, picking up Marisa.

She flew over to the maid, and the two walked away.

Alone in the dark, enveloped in shadows, two eyes pierced through. They looked at the broken vial of blood. That was the only syringe she stole. It didn't matter though, Eirin won't see her take another. After the mess of using just a knife and blood, she was looking forward to a cleaner job.

 _Stupid devil…_ she thought as she faded back fully into the darkness.

* * *

AN: Sorry this took awhile, college stuff.

I love the fact that I call Eirin Eientei at first before fixing it, especially because I somehow managed to spell it correctly without looking it up.  
So, yeah, new chapter, hopefully didn't screw something up, tests coming soon, may delay stuff.  
Also, these chapters have been going up in 400 words apiece. Weird.

Anyway, enjoy.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Choice

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

Sakuya and Patchouli's assistant arrived back at the entrance of the library, Remilia and Yukari standing in silence. Yukari smirked at Marisa's condition.

"Maybe now she will have learned her lesson?" she wondered.

"Not likely, Miss Patchouli has done worst." the devil sighed.

"Well then, I believe we may have reached an impasse until our lady librarian finishes her research. Until then, I believe I should look into this. After all, we have no idea how this happened." Yukari stated tapping her cheek.

"Wow, something has spurred Yukari to action, it really is serious, isn't it?" Remilia joked.

"Hmm, rude. I would refrain from treating this as a joke in front of Reimu. I can tell the girl is not taking this very well." Yukari warned.

She was, uncharacteristically serious, a frown on her face.

"Especially because of the fact that Reimu cannot use the powers the Hakurei shrine maiden is meant to use. In fact, I believe they may severely harm her if she genuinely attempted. This transformation has severed her connection, possibly permanently. Those Yin-Yang objects she always uses? They may attempt to purge her if she so much as touched them. This, as much as I want to pass off as an odd event that can be fixed, I don't believe it can ever be fully resolved. Reimu, may not be able to continue her job." Yukari explained solemnly.

"You said 'may' for a few things there." Sakuya noted.

"Mmm, it could all be fixed and everything returns to normal in a week. Or it could have long lasting consequences. There's a fine line between them, it could go either way."

"Okay, a lot more serious then. Well, I'll go check on Reimu and my sister. Sakuya, bring Marisa to Eirin and leave her there, we really don't need her adding to this." Remilia asked, walking away.

Sakuya took the witch and walked away, sighing having to bring the witch to the Eientei. Yukari smiled before opening a gap and stepped in, the tear closing. The devil looked around.

"Soooo...what do I do?" she asked no one, scratching her neck.

* * *

Yukari stepped out of her gap next to the Hakurei shrine, hearing voices as soon as she arrived.

"So that's why you gotta help me find the fire rat!" she heard Clownpiece yell.

"Uhh, Clownpiece, you haven't said what the fire rat even is." Sunny complained with a pout.

"Well, I wanted to see what would happen if I messed with an animals sanity. So I shoved a rat into my torch and with haywire, jumping and biting. So I hid it in the shrine to see if Reimu would freak out over it. Now I need to find it so Reimu doesn't make me clean up all the sick on the floor." Clownpiece explain.

The three fairies all nodded before freezing as Yukari walked up behind Clownpiece, the hell fairy oblivious.

"We gotta find it before the scary gap lady comes back. She doesn't like me messing with Reimu, so I have to find it before she sees it."

"Uh-uhuhuhuh…" Luna stammered as she struggled to speak, fear on her face.

Yukari put a finger to her lips, causing Luna to close her mouth.

"Uhuhuhuh, blah, blah, blah, whatever you say Luna. Come on, we have to find it before the gap lady gets back." she turned and walked into Yukari's dress, bouncing back after hitting her legs.

Clownpiece looked up at Yukari, then back to the fairies of light, then the Youkai again, surprised. Yukari just smiled at her as she opened a gap below the fairy, Clownpiece falling into it. She looked at the three.

"Please find that rat, not just for her, but me too, okay." she requested, the three nodding rapidly in response "Good, I have something I need to check, thank you for your help." she finished walking into the shrine.

"I don't like her…" Star whispered, shaking.

"Uhh, let's find that rat…" Sunny announced, her usually peppy demeanor subdued.

After a minute of searching, they heard what sounded like screaming before Clownpiece fell from the sky and hit the ground, the impact embedding her head in the ground.

"Ooowwwww…" she moaned into her hole.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

"How am supposed to unleash my power or whatever?" Reimu asked Flandre.

She still didn't really like the idea of this, but learning how to use something while she was stuck like this was at least a decent idea. Sort of.

"Okay, so, how I did it was that I sat down and closed my eyes…" Reimu did so as Flandre paused to think "And then, began trying to feel my power, I think. Like, try and find a plug and pull on it, or a stuck door, or a cage. Then open it, or destroy it. Look at it, poke it...stuff like that." she tried to explain.

Reimu scowled. That was, incredibly unhelpful. She sat there, eyes closed as Flandre hummed and thought, racking her brain for more. She might as well try this. She looked around with her eyes closed, mentally pulling and prodding the inside of her head. There was nothing. Uhh, this is stupid, it wasn't like Reimu was magically going to find some switch in her head that read 'activate all the powers!' She groaned in frustration, rage building again. But as it did, she noticed something. A small tug in her head. She focused on it, refusing to let it leave. She pulled on it, grabbed it.

 _Hey, Flandre was right, maybe there is something in h-_ Reimu froze as the thing came look, finding herself fainting.

To Flandre though, it looked like Reimu slumped forward, asleep.

"Hey, no sleeping!" she yelled grabbing Reimu.

Then she noticed the blank look in her semi-open eyes.

"Oh...maybe she figured it out. Well, guess I have to wait. Uhh, boring." she sat down, glancing around the silent room "Super boring…"

Reimu opened her eyes and was met with a darkened void, colours swirling around her. That's...weird, yeah, weird's a good word for this. She looked around, finding nothing of note.

"Well then...this wasn't I was expecting." the girl spoke out to the void.

She sighed and wandered forward before stopping, an odd feeling coming over her. She blinked twice and instinctively knew something was off. Her head felt, off, cloudy.

"What the...I feel…" her words died in her throat as she shook her head.

She swallowed and looked around again. What was she just doing?

"I was...umm...was…" she couldn't remember.

Everything was a blur. Her mind was a mess.

 _Calm down, it's fine, fine! Just relax and state the facts you know, perfect solution_ she thought.

First off, her name is Re-...Re-...R-! R- R- -! She froze, eye twitching.

"-! My name is R-!" the word refused to come out, she could barely remember the first letter of it.

Okay, panic time! She grabbed her head, rapidly glancing around. Her memory was messed up, she couldn't think straight! Vision blurred, hearing muted, she couldn't even feel her head or hair in her hands! She screamed, shouted, but nothing came. She fell to her knees, shaking her head. Make it stop!

"Hey, I think that's enough." a voice suddenly said, shattering the silent ringing in her ears.

"I had to make sure there would be no bias. No past to shape her future choice." a second voice stated.

"Yeah yeah, but that looked a bit like torture." the first argued.

She looked up to see two doors, one white and red, the other red and purple. The white was bound with crackling chains. The purple had the door sealed with a piece of paper. Two beings stood in front of her, one for each door. The white and red entity was a blurred humanoid shape, a tail and scaled wings visible from its back. The other was more visible. She had pale skin, burning red eyes and brown hair. Two red, leathery wings sat on her back. She gave a open mouth smirk, exposing sharp fangs.

"Now then, I believe she is ready." the scaly winged one said.

"I guess so, if you called f'ed in the head ready." the fanged girl commented with a shrug.

"Wha...what's happening…?" she asked weakly.

"Simple my dear. You only need chose a door."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Huh?! B-but I can't think straight! I can't chose some random door thing! I can't remember anything!" she yelled.

"That's the point girl. No memories, relationships, past, stuff of that nature to sway your choice. Just chose the one you like." the pale girl explained "Although good old - here went a bit far in my opinion." the word was missing to Reimu, mouth moving but no sound.

"Be mindful of your words, no names." the blurred one snapped.

"Uhh, fine."

She looked at the two, then the doors. Each gave off a different feeling. The chained door felt...familiar? But also...hostile, unwelcoming. The sealed door felt off, unknown. But free, and welcoming. She swallowed, glancing at the two.

"No hints, sorry. Ya just got to chose." the girl sighed.

"It is the path you will follow. Both have multiple endings, but also shared ones. Just chose which path you wish to walk." the tailed one explained.

"No wrong choices, only life directing ones." the other joked.

So much for no hints. Both doors had a good and bad point, both beings didn't seem to care about the choice. In her head, she knew that the familiar one was probably the safe choice, but that hostile force was putting her off. The other was unknown...but seemed to not want to instantly kill her. Which really was the deciding factor. She stumbled over to the sealed door, and looked at the two.

"If you want it, open it." the girl suggested.

Swallowing, she pushed the door, the seal ripping, opening the door to a swirling blood red column.

"Hmm...I guess it does not truly matter in the long run. Enjoy your choice...Reimu." the white and red entity smiled as the door slammed shut, trapping her inside.

Reimu staggered back, deeper in. What did it mea-her name! Reimu clutched her head as her name came back to her, but nothing else. She looked around as something landed behind her, wrapping her arms around her.

"He he he, oh, we are gonna have so much FUN!" she giggled as she leaned on top of her.

Her maw opened to expose her long fangs that chomped into her neck, Reimu screaming in pain. The girl seemed to liquify into blood, suddenly flowing rapidly into the wound. Reimu howled in pain as her blood ignited, a horrendous pain erupted from her back, blood and fabric flying as something tore free from her back, the cascade raining down on her as the column faded.

* * *

Remilia opened her sister's bedroom door to find Flandre scribbling on a spell card as Reimu sat, an empty expression on her face. Remilia's face scrunched up in confusion at the odd scene.

"Flan...what did you do?" she asked stepping into the room.

"Hmm, I didn't do anything. I wanted Reimu to figure out how to use her powers and stuff so we could play, so I asked her to do what I did to unleash my power. So she closed her eyes, concentrated, and then she was like this for the last ten minutes." Flandre explained standing up.

"Uh huh...I see." she walked over to Reimu and shook her, her head falling back limp "You sure you didn't (cough), 'break' her?" she asked.

"Of course not! I haven't broken any toy soldiers in months!"

"Wait months? Who did yo-?" an aura of power leaking off Reimu stopped her dead, before a sudden pulse blew the two back, Reimu's eye's flaring back to life.

She let out a scream as two wings burst free from back, the poor girl screaming in pain. She dragged her fingers along the stone floor, the skin ripping from the friction. The new red wings twitched and spasmed, a coat of blood, flesh and fabric dripping and falling off them. Reimu collapsed, tears in her eyes. The two vampire looked at the sight, stunned, before Flandre recovered.

"Yay! She figured it out!" she cried happily.

 _Oh this is probably bad..._ Remilia whispered in her head.

* * *

 **At the same time**

Yukari stepped out of a gap was met with an oppressive force. The power of the room was trying force her away, but she endured, unflinching. A single candle sat on a table, a hazy power sitting behind the candle. It seemed to increase the pressure as she stood there, but all Yukari did was smile.

"Come now, you know why I stand here. There is no need for the barrier." she smiled at the force, the pressure weakening slightly.

Yukari walked up to the candle, a tag with Reimu's name held up by a string just barely above the flame.

"Hmm, it appears that everything may be fine-" the flame flickered before flaring up and consuming the tag, burning it to ash "Oh...oh no…" she whispered as the candle returned to a normal size.

She looked at the force, which seemed to nod before relenting completely, leaving her alone.

"Reimu...what did you do…?"

* * *

 **Bamboo forest**

Sakuya walked in silence through the bamboo forest, Marisa slung over her shoulder. This was the third time she has had to do this. If the nosy witch could just stop her incessant breaking in and stealing of the library's books, maybe Patchouli may let her borrow a book or two, or at least let her read them in the building. Maybe. Or not actually. Patchouli is a bit fickle with the her books. Not that it was her business. Soon she found the bamboo stalks growing too thick to pass through, signaling that she had gone wrong and was approaching Eientei from the back. She rolled her eyes as she sliced thought the bamboo with a knife, the greenery falling around her. After a few more cuts, she broke free and walked into the back wall of the building. With a hop, she partially flew over the roof, struggling to fly with Marisa's extra weight. She landed on the roof and grabbed her pocket watch, pressing the button on the side with a pulse of magic, freezing time. She didn't want to scare the poor rabbits by clattering across the roof. Especially if it soured Eirin's mood doing so. She wasn't sure if it would, but you can never be too careful. She walked to the front and jumped off the roof and landed at the front door, noticing Reisen waving off a man and young boy. Time resumed after a second from her perspective, the three others all jumping in fright from the suddenly appearing maid. She looked at them with a blank expression.

"Ha ha hah ah...yes...so, have him take that twice a day for a week." she finished, clearly off put by Sakuya.

The man and boy nodded and ran over to the faded path, a white haired woman leading them away. Reisen let out a nervous laugh.

"So, how are you head maid, what can I help you with?" she asked, regaining her composure.

"Marisa again. Like always." Sakuya said with a sigh.

"Another magically given disease? A cold, flu?" she glanced at Marisa "A coma?"

"No, a broken nose this time. And maybe a concussion."

"Oh, so some variety. Come in, I'll bring you to Master Eirin." she beckoned walking into the building.

Sakuya followed after and walked in silence. The occasional rabbit ran by, the humanoid animals carefree like always.

 _Marisa, the fact that I'm getting better at finding Eientei and probably could make my own way to Eirin's surgery is a sign that maybe you should stop_ Sakuya ideally thought as they walked.

Soon they came to the familiar door, a name plate hung on the door.

"Well, see you next week." Reisen shrugged, resignment in her voice as she left.

Sakuya sighed with a nod, knocking on the door.

"Come in." Eirin said.

Sakuya opened the door to find the Lunarian rooting through a wooden cabinet, clearly annoyed. She looked over her shoulder and upon seeing Marisa over Sakuya's shoulder, sighed and slammed the cabinet closed.

"What now?" she asked sitting down, Sakuya dumping the witch onto a medical bed in the corner.

"Patchouli threw her across the library, which broke her nose and gave her a possible concussion."

"Lovely. Well, broken bones aren't usually something I deal with. But I could possible make something to speed up bone recover by stimulating the red bone marrow…" Eirin reasoned to herself as Sakyua raised an eyebrow at the end.

"Ah, hmm, maybe I could stop, before I lose you completely." she said with a frown.

"Yes, that would be for the best. Actually, Eirin, I have a question." Sakuya suddenly spoke after a brief thought "Do you know how to cure a vampire?"

"Huh...now that is an interesting request...especially from you of all human." Eirin stood and wandered over to book shelf, filled with oddly coloured books.

She grabbed one and opened it, pulling out several papers.

"Vampirism is an interesting case. A mix of a disease and a magic curse that resides in blood. It is not something easily contracted by accident, and far worse to cure. Caused by a virus like microbe, it uses red blood cells to replicate while mostly living in the host's cells. Contracted by the infected's blood entering the patient's circulatory system or ingesting a large amount of the infected's blood…" she looked at the bewildered Sakuya, before sighing "I know how they work, but not how to cure them, but I can restart my research if needed." she added, putting down the paper and closing the folder.

"Okay, sorry, I was just getting lost there…" Sakuya admitted.

Most people had that problem, Eirin sometimes went on rants that confused most people.

"Of course you were...it's fine. Anyway, why are you asking?" Eirin asked.

"Someone has been turned into a vampire, and we wish to restore them back to human as fast as possible. And I just thought you may know how to."

"I see. I did do some research on this in the past. I'll need to find my old samples and more notes. Leave Marisa and this problem with me, I'll endeavor to find a solution." Eirin nodded smiling.

"Thank you, and as always, Marisa shall pay for her own treatment." Sakuya finished, leaving.

* * *

In a side room, someone was leaning against the door, ear to it, listening in.

"Ohh, this sounds like a gooagh! Hck (cough) hck!" Aya stopped mid sentence as she near coughed up her lungs, staggering away from the door.

She steadied herself and took out the thermometer from her, causally glancing at the mercury filled glass.

"41C? That's normal enough, right?" she asked the empty room, believing someone was sitting on a chair in the back.

Her hallucination, long haired tengu, shrugged her shoulders, uninterested.

"Well I think I'm fine, no flu can stop a reporter!" she announced, wobbling from side to side.

After a few seconds, Eirin opened the door, frowning.

"Aya, get back into your bed." she ordered.

"No! I've a story to write!" she yelled, collapsing.

Eirin caught her and placed her back into the bed, the tengu wiggling weakly.

"You'll be fine by either tomorrow morning or evening, just take your medicine and get some sleep." she said pouring some liquid onto a spoon and force feeding it to her.

"You can't stop the-the presssssss…" she fell asleep as she finished, Eirin sighing.

"Why are youkai so much more difficult."

She left the room, returning to her search.

* * *

AN: So if you want Eirin's whole vampirism talk, you'll find it below, I got really into it and wrote it all out before realising that having that big chunk of psudo-medical stuff in the middle of the scene would be a little much, so I cut out a lot of it. Still, it's down there if you want it.

Anyway, I finished my tests last Friday and got bogged down in some stuff that delayed me writing (glances at my Switch). So yeah, stuff is advancing along, and Reimu made a choice without any bias. It may have an affect on a thing or two...maybe.

Each chapter was going up in 400 words, then suddenly 1400 word jump...it has 400 in it.

The usually, Pm, review, things, bye.  
Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

"Vampirism is an interesting case. A mix of a disease and a magic curse that resides in blood. It is not something easily contracted by accident, and far worse to cure. Caused by a virus like microbe, it uses red blood cells to replicate while mostly living in the host's cells. Contracted by the infected's blood entering the patient's circulatory system or ingesting a large amount of the infected's blood, the microbe ruptures the infected blood to either infect healthy blood cells or enter the bloodstream from the digestive tract. It replicates quickly, causing a drop in red blood cells that results in paling of the skin and slight anemia. After a large amount of microbes are made, they breach the vein's walls and rapidly infect all cells in the host. That is when the magic side of the disease activates. It quickly shuts down the cell's normal functions before reactivating them with the microbe in control. No operational change is noted, but this is not true. The magic enhances the cells ability to regenerate and replicate, while also supplying magical energy to strengthen muscle cells and grant magical power. This comes with side effects though. The microbe is allergic to silver, killing or suppressing the microbe in the silver wounded cells. Without it, the cell cannot heal, or even function, so it dies. That is why silver is harmful. Sunlight dispels the curse temporarily, causing the cells to burn and die due to lack of function and the microbe exploding without it's magic. Blood must be drank to be used as sustenance for the microbe, which in turn keeps the vampire alive. I do not know why running water effects vampires as it does though, a mystery I've never needed to solve." she closed the folder and looked at the bewildered Sakuya, before sighing "I know how they work, but not how cure them them, but I can restart my research if needed." she finished.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Theft

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

"Yay, she figured it out!" Flandre cried out happily.

Reimu lay on the ground, panting and flinching, a pained expression on her face. Flandre ignored it and jumped at the downed girl, grabbing her and lifting her up.

"Hey, how do you feel?" she asked with a smile.

"I think my blood is on fire…" Reimu gasped as struggled to break free.

It wasn't very effective, Flandre refused to let her go.

"Reimu, care to explain? You just nearly destroyed Flandre's bedroom. And now have wings." Remilia questioned with a pointing finger, eyebrow raised.

"Huh? I do…?" she glanced behind her at her red wings, her pale skin losing more of it's little colour "What the-?! How did…? Agh! My head!" Reimu broke out of the death grip.

She shook her head rapidly, her memories fuzzy. She remembered not remembering anything, and now can remember everything except that the time she had no memories...that's a confusing line of thought. Something important happened, that much she knew, but not what it was. She subconsciously flapped her wings as she thought, the sight making Flandre giggle. It reminded her of a confused dog she had seen hundreds of years ago. After a bit more, Reimu sighed and dropped her shoulders.

"I can't think straight about that, it's like that scene in my brain got ripped out. The constant pulsing isn't helping either! It's like a drum in my ears." Reimu complained.

"Hmm, that's probably magic coursing through you, it should-" "You get used to it!" Flandre interrupted her sister "It gets quieter when you fight too!"

"Yes, that to an extent but it would be better if you get a grip on this new power so it doesn't run wild and you disintegrate half of the bamboo forest." Remilia gave a sideward gaze at the blond vampire.

It remained Reimu of Flandre and Marisa's playdate...so much destruction within five minutes, it was impressive in a way. Yeah, she had chosen this, it was better that she had a grip on this. Wait, had she chosen this? What made her think that? Something from her trip in her head was clearly there, but attempting to think of it made it fade away. It did not wish to be remembered. Stupid subconscious. Her mind was hiding things.

"Soooo, let's go have some fun!" Flandre cried out happily.

"Flan, this isn't the time for games, not everything can be solved by blowing up the opposite side." Remilia chided.

"Hmph, spoil sport." she pouted.

As the sisters got into a silent argument, Reimu looked back at her wings. They sat rigid on her back. She flapped them, the foreign feeling making her shiver. This day was progressively getting worse. How much longer would this go on? Patchouli had better find a way to fix this. Had they even talked to her yet? Reimu stepped forward to ask and stepped on something. It snapped from a light step. She glanced down and spotted a blue crayon on the floor, crushed in two. Several more lay sprawled all over the floor. But what had been drawn on drew her attention. Three spell cards had had simple drawings scrawled over them.

She picked up one and noticed a familiar design. She rooted around in her sleeves, finding her cards missing. She frowned, turning to the vampires.

"Did you draw all over my spell cards?" she asked, annoyed.

"Well, you went zombie on me and I didn't have anything to do, so I used your old spell stuff to draw on." Flandre grabbed one "Look! This is me, you and sis!" she pointed at three figures, two in red but one blond and the other brown haired, along with a blue haired person in pink.

The figures all held hands with wide smiles. Flandre looked up at Reimu with happy eyes.

"Me and my sisters!" she smiled grabbing another, this one with the three flying on a darkened sky, the third had a purple haired girl and white haired girl too.

The drawing had covered most of the pattern on the spell cards, they were ruined. Reimu didn't know how to react, Flandre had scribbled over her stuff. But the pictures were clearly well meaning. She looked to Remilia. The girl only gave a soft smile and a shrug. There was no way to complain without appearing heartless.

"They're very...nice. But how about next time, don't draw on my stuff, okay?" Reimu said with a mix of annoyance and praise.

It was an odd mix, coupled with a forced tone. It came across as off. Flandre seemed not to notice, or care. The girl only nodded and grabbed the three and place them beside her bed, before turning and grabbing Reimu's arm.

"If you've got to practice instead of have fun, I can try helping. We can order the fairies around and get them to set up stuff to blow up, you know, precisely." Flandre reasoned dragging her away.

"Wait, we haven't come up with a proper plan yet! We have some things to talk about! Flandre, s-stop!" Reimu yelled as she was dragged out the door "I need a new outfit at leeeeast!"

"(Sigh) This is going to be a busy few days til this is fixed…" she breathed following them, closing the door.

* * *

Yukari stepped out of the shrine, a grim expression on her face before noticing the four fairies surrounding something. Her face changed instantly to a more vague happy as she hid away her emotions, walking over to the group. Luna was screaming and crying, a glowing rat that foamed at the mouth violently shaking and gnawing at her dirty blond hair. The group all looked like they had been rolling around in the mud.

"Wah! G-Get it off!" she screamed as Clownpiece tugged at it.

"Hey, you're gonna rip her hair." Star worried as she and Sunny stood by and attempted to figure out how to get it off.

Yukari walked past them and removed Clownpiece, placing her aside. She grabbed the crazed rat and effortlessly pried it's jaw open. She opened a gap and dropped it in, a second gap opening on the ground, the rat falling out, calm, confused and disoriented. She gave it a light kick, which sent it running.

"There. That problem is fixed now. No more of that, understood?" she asked, the four shrinking under her gaze.

She opened and reached into another small gap, pulling out a bottle and mop.

"Clownpiece, would you kindly use this to draw out the...fluids from the stains in the shrine. Mop it up then and dispose them. Preferably by fire."

"Eww, I don't want to do that, it's gross." Clownpiece folded her arms, looking away.

"Aww, what's wrong, scared of some vomit?" she joked with a smile.

"No! I just don't wanna clean up barf."

Yukari kneed down and held out the bottle and mop.

"Come now, poor Reimu is currently in a bit of bother and may not return for some time. Would it not be better for everyone that she had a clean home to return to?" Yukari smile changed to a more worried one "Please?"

The fact that her expression seemed genuine gave the fairies a feeling something was very wrong.

"Hey, is Reimu okay?" Sunny asked.

"To an extent, yes. But something terrible has happened to her. So, could you please look after this place until her return?" Yukari requested.

Clownpiece took the bottle and Star grabbed the mop.

"When she's back, I'm going back to messing with her." she stated dryly, a layer of worry falling over the area.

"Well, then you have to deal with a pissed fo-...shrine maiden." Yukari bit her tongue to stop herself.

She mustn't let them know. This situation may still be mended...somehow. She wasn't sure how, but despair and resignment would not solve anything. She needed more information. And the fairies clearly lacked it. She nodded to them and stepped into a gap.

"Please, keep this to yourselves, this is truly important." she added leaving.

The group looked at each other, everyone's emotions muted.

"I don't like the sound of all this…" Sunny whispered, the shrine eerily quiet "What's happening?"

* * *

 **Eientei**

Eirin rummaged through another drawer before slamming it shut with a scowl. Everywhere she looked, her notes on vampirism failed to be. It was like they had vanished. She opened a press on the wall, failed medical concoctions from mixing odd compounds lined the shelves. Remnants of Reisen attempts of medicine making. She liked to keep failures to avoid repeating them, not that it helped. She always found a new way to mess it up.

"The basics were in the damned folder, where is the rest? Did someone take them? The blood is missing too." Eirin spoke to herself, pushing the black and grey liquids around in their bottles.

How would anyone take them though? She hadn't left them sitting around for anyone to just walk in and take them.

The door opened as Reisen walked in, sighing.

"Master, I believe that no more people will be...umm, are you okay?" she stopped and asked, perplexed by Eirin rooting through the, ahem, 'failure zone'.

Eirin looked at the rabbit.

"Do you know where my notes on vampirism and the blood samples from Remilia Scarlet I took as part of that are? Most of the notes are not in the folder and the blood isn't in the hazardous safe."

"Umm...no? I didn't know about the research stuff and the blood? Hmm…" she walked over to a metal cool box "Maybe you put in the fridge?" she opened the box...and screamed.

Eirin rushed over and pushed her aside, finding a hand gripping a blood filled syringe. It quickly began to retreat into a weakening shadowy portal. She grabbed a scalpel and stabbed the hand, forcing it to drop the blood but not stopping it from fleeing.

"Make sure everything is still present, NOW!" she ordered running out the door.

Eirin rushed through Eientei, blazing past several concerned rabbits before exiting into the bamboo forest, jumping up and landing on a tall stalk. They had to be nearby. A portal into Eientei? That was not an easy feat. She scanned the thick greenery. It was a vain hope, the place was far too dense. She frowned, jumping off and landing by the door. She left after another sweep, returning to her clinic, Reisen looking from side to side.

"Well?"

"Okay, the last inventory from three days ago is two blood packs of each blood type, a pack of youkai blood and one pack labeled RS, along with three syringes filled with blood and two empty ones. Also included were several medicines to remain chilled as well as an ice pack. The RS pack is gone, as well as two of the filled syringes. The hand was attempting to steal the third filled one." Reisen listed off from a scrap of paper stuck to the side of the box.

"RS...Scarlet!" she looked at the cool box, black goo clung to were the hand had been.

She rushed to her folder and grabbed the vampire one, opening it and taking out the report. A page was stuck to the back. She piled it off to expose more goo. Her eye twitched.

"Stupid, stupid, stupidstupidstupid! I was such a idolt! How the hell and heaven did I not notice when I was talking to Sakuya!" she threw the folder and report across the room, the pages flying everywhere.

"Master, what's wrong!?"

"Get to the village, warn everyone! Then get to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, NOW! Someone with the ability to use portals has vampire blood! You only need a small amount of blood...no, nonono, this could be an epidemic!" Eirin shook her head, grabbing a key to a her locked records room "Please tell me I kept a second record, please…"

Reisen staggered back, mouth agape.

"Vampire…? Oh no…" she sprinted out the door, blowing past someone, nearly knocking them over.

Kaguya looked at the rabbit, curious, before walking into the clinic.

"Eirin? Are you here? Is something amiss?" she asked.

The response she got was Aya opening the door to the patient room.

"I think someone stole some pillar blood and is gonna use it to destroy the world!" she yelled, clearly delirious.

"I...see...I, will ask her myself as well, to be sure. Umm, goodbye?" Kaguya said, unsure how to talk to the fevered tengu.

"Good day." Aya closed the door, with her on the wrong side.

She staggered over to the knocked out Marisa.

"Do you have, any stories?" she slurred before fainting onto Marisa, quietly snoring.

Eirin stuck her head out and spotted her friend.

"Is it always like this?"

She only gave a pained expression, stress on her face.

* * *

 **At the same time**

She clutched her hand, blood leaking from the wound as she fled the bamboo forest.

"Engh! B-B**ch, she stabbed me! She, gods damned stabbed me!" the midnight haired girl swore.

A pouch on her side held a syringe of blood, as well as the blood pack from before, resealed and a bunch of papers.

"Heh...at least I got one. But I wanted the other. Guess I'll just force feed'em the blood if I need to. This is not stopping me…" she finished as she grabbed a leaf and wrapped it around her wound "Good enough." she continued on, a few drops of blood dripping onto the dry ground.

* * *

AN: Hello, it's been a month, sorry. This was meant to be out yesterday, but I was torn between adding some stuff to this chapter or making the next one a bit longer. I can to the realisation that trying to shove the bit in here wouldn't work, so sorry.

But, apart from that, things are going along at a decent pace I think

Not much else I think, Pm, review, tell me I messed up some spelling and failed to see it until like a week later and then I forget the part I need to fix and it never does get fixed. I hate that happening, but it keeps showing up.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Powers

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

Flandre dragged Reimu through the mansion, ignoring her protests as Remilia chased them. She stopped at two fairies maids who were chatting beside a half cleaned, light damping window. The sight made them jump and return to cleaning.

"Hey, can you two help? I want you to grab some wood and leaves and make some things to blow up." Flandre asked, Reimu finally breaking free.

The fairies looked at each other, confused.

"Umm, what?" the red haired one responded.

"Allow me to clarify. I want you two to go get a few more fairies and build some dummies out of scrap wood and leaves. Use stuff from the woods outside or the broken furniture out back." Remilia said catching up.

"Oh, Miss Scarlet! O-Okay, we can...uhh, do that. I think...come on." she gestured to her co-worker, the two flying off.

"Hmm, that will take a few minutes at least to make, until then, we should get you clothes that don't have the back ripped off." Remilia suggested.

"Yeah, that would nice...what clothes?" Reimu backpedaled as she realised that Remilia meant clothes that belonged to them.

"Hmm, you're too big for mine and Flandre's, so we can put you in one of Sakuya outfits."

"Heh, maid sister!"

"What, nonono. I'm not wearing a maid uniform! It would too big for me, she's like 6 inches taller than me, I'm not-"

* * *

Reimu sat dressed in a maid outfit, a scowl plastered on her face, arms folded. Flandre sat next to her smiling away.

 _I hate everyone..._ Reimu fumed in her head as she relived the, 'trauma'.

" _ **Dress up time!" Flandre announced picking Reimu completely off the floor, running off.**_

" _ **Wha-?! Flandre, put me down!" Reimu cried as she was carried against her will.**_

 _ **Why was she being dragged or carried everywhere, it's like they didn't trust her to walk!**_

 _ **Flandre arrived at Sakuya's room and dumped Reimu down as she opened a wardrobe filled with identical outfits.**_

" _ **Doesn't she wear anything else?"**_

" _ **Noooo, why would she?" Flandre asked grabbing one.**_

" _ **You know, to wear when she's not...maiding." Reimu mused over the odd wording she just used as an outfit was handed to her.**_

" _ **Sakuya is our head maid, she's never not 'maiding'" Remilia chuckled walking in.**_

" _ **You don't give her a break or a day off at all?" Reimu wondered as she unconsciously began to get changed, focusing on the conversation.**_

" _ **Off time? She doesn't have time for time off."**_

" _ **She can stop time, how does not have time to...what am I doing!?" Reimu suddenly yelled, realising she had half dressed up in the outfit unknowingly, the outfit catching on her new wings.**_

" _ **Aww, I thought she'd have finished before she noticed." Flandre laughed.**_

" _ **No, I'm not wearing this" Reimu complained, attempted to wiggle free from the outfit.**_

" _ **Nope, you're wearing it!" Flandre snatched a knife from a nearby table and sliced two holes in the back, before forcing the clothes fully down.**_

 _ **She grabbed Reimu's wings and pulled them through the holes and smiled.**_

" _ **Come on, put your arms in the sleeves."**_

 _ **Reimu stared at her with a cold fury before putting her arms through, now fully wearing the one-piece maid dress. Remilia picked up the head dress, wandering over. Reimu responded with a frown.**_

" _ **NO!"**_

" _ **Hmm, fine then."**_

 _ **Reimu looked down at the outfit. It was clearly too big, the meant to thigh length skirt section was below her knees and the top portion was a bit baggy. It was obviously for someone taller and broader.**_

" _ **I hate all of you."**_

 _ **The vampire sisters just giggled at her**_

"Come on, come on come on! Stop making that face, you look nice!" Flandre complimented the upset girl.

Reimu returned to reality and looked at the blond girl, spinning her last untarnished spell card in her fingers.

"How long am I going to have to deal with all this? I just wanna go back to normal."

"You don't want to be my sister...?"

"Don't twist my words Flandre. You have to know that this is something really bad. I'm meant to be the Hakurei shrine maiden, a human charged with trying to keep a semblance of peace. As much as I'm slow to act, or complain about having to do it, I still act, work. JJJJust not really train. But currently, I'm a vampire, in the Scarlet Devil mansion. I can't use my proper powers...I can't feel them, just this pulse stuff. I'm just...just...worried. Scared even. Something is wrong, someone caused this. What will people think? Rinnosuke didn't really care, but he rarely cares about stuff like this. Keine, when she looked at me, I can tell, she hated me, she had to have!" Reimu ranted, grabbing her head.

"Did she say she hated you?" Flandre asked.

"But she-" "Did she say she hated you?"

"Stop chang-" "Did she say she hated you?" Flandre repeated.

"Stop that…!"

"...Did she say she hated you Reimu?"

"Nhh...no...but she chased me!"

"I haven't met alot of people in Gensokyo, but people I remember from a long time ago...I don't really remember anything about them, except their words. 'Vampire!...Demon!...Witch!...KILL HER, KILL THEM!' Hate...I know hate. If she hated you...she would have screamed it out. Sis said a long time ago that humans always express and yell their feelings." tears began to run out of her eyes "Hate...so much, blood...death...I-I...didn't mean to...he just...stop, don't hurt her!...Stop it, please!" Flandre's eyes had misted over.

She was relieving a nightmare. She began shaking.

"Flandre? Hey, Flandre!"

The girl couldn't hear her, enveloped in a memory that Reimu had made her dig up. She looked around the room. No one was around, Remilia was off with the fairies. Reimu swallowed and looked at the vampire. She was worsening, sparks arcing off her. Her emotions were running wild. So, she did the only thing she could do. She grabbed Flandre, hugging her. She began struggling.

"Let me go Remilia! She's still there, we have to help! We can save her! Stop it, stop it! Let GO!" she released a pulse of pure magic that tore through Reimu.

A sharp pain erupted from her insides as she coughed up a large volume of blood. She liquidated insides most likely. Another pulse, another blast. The magic ripped flesh and boiled blood. If she wasn't regenerating, she would have died in seconds. Another blast blew her back into a wall. Pain was running through every fiber of being.

 _We never really saw Flandre's 'true power' as Remilia put it when we encountered her. Marisa showed her spell cards before she attacked. Is this it? There's so much..._ Reimu thought as the girl cried out in pain.

She was not even close to in control.

"I gotta seal her pow...no, damn it!"

Her power was different now, any spell cards won't work, and she hadn't ever really got the hang sealing without them. Not that it mattered, her power wasn't that of a shrine maiden, it was stupid vampire stuff! No, it didn't matter!

"I fix problems, so I'll fix this!"

She glanced at her card, grabbing the air above it. An orb of magic formed, red and white whirling inside it. She grabbed it and cast it aside, the paper's drawing and writing fading. Reimu dodged another arc of energy, grabbing a stray crayon. She hastily drew a basic pattern and scribbled a few messy words on it. She held it out, purple flowing into it, giving it a soft glow.

 _Good enough..._

It was barely a spell card. It was more a focus then anything else. A surge of magic rushed through her.

"Corrupted sign, Blood fantasy binding!"

The sigil from before appeared, although more detailed, a yin-yang ball cracked in two at its center, several altered sealing ritual words and symbols around it. Three purple, ghostly chains flew out and bound Flandre in place, the unleashing power weakening. Reimu jumped under another wayward bolt and rushed at her. A sigil spawned on her hand, coating it in lightning. She delivered a heavy chop to her head, the increased force and power knocking the vampire out, the power dissipating fully.

Reimu staggered back, the chains shattering. She was gasping for air, the pain from her damaged insides reemerging.

"Well, looks like I can still use this power to fake my actually powers…" she sighed.

"Hmm, well, that's one way to practice." Remilia commented from the doorway.

"Wha-!? How long have you been there?!"

"Seen you were pushed back. If things got too bad I'd have stopped her, but well, pressure is a good teacher you know."

"Ragh, really?! Who could have guessed!" Reimu fumed.

* * *

Yukari stood in front of Eientei, a slight smile on her face.

 _Hmm, I wonder if Eirin knows anything about all this? I recall her claiming to have made breakthroughs in regards of vampirism...50 years ago? Or was it more...well, it doesn't matter. Sakuya most likely forgot to bring it up to her, more focused on being rid of Marisa. Now then, I should go through the front door, Eirin was so upset last time I just entered directly in._ Yukari reasoned in her head.

She promptly opened a gap and side stepped into it, smirking. She instantly stepped out of a second one and was met with a mess. Paper was thrown around in the corner, a normally locked door was wide open, Eirin rummaging around inside. Marisa was lying on a bed, with the tengu reporter asleep on top of her. And finally, the lady of Eientei herself sat beside the sleeping two, patting the tangu. She looked up.

"Greetings gap sage, what brings you here?" Kaguya asked.

"I came to ask Eirin a few questions about some unfolding events."

"Oh, you may have some trouble talking to her, she is currently busy searching for a copy of a report on a blood borne disease that was stolen. Vamp-something I believe." Kaguya explained.

"Hmm, someone managed to steal from Eientei? That is no easy task. Even I have to put a little effort into my gaps to breach here."

"Indeed, that is another thing that is worrying her. I believe that they stole blood samples as well." Kaguya hopped off the bed and walked over to the cool box "Hmm, yes, these were taken I believe. I am sorry for not being sure, Eirin was rushing to explain." she pointed to three items on a paper list.

Yukari took the list and opened the box. A blood pack of RS blood, and two syringes of blood. Yukari picked up the remaining syringe. A weakened energy flowed through it, one she recognised. She noticed the blacked goo on the side. She scooped off a bit and rubbed it between her fingers. Unusual. Traces of magic clung to the viscous goo.

"Is there any more of this?" Yukari wondered.

"I am not sure."

Yukari walked around the room, scanning everything. She walked over to the thrown papers and folder. She picked up the pages. Scattered words portrayed what it was. She picked up the folder, 'hemomorphic arcanteria' written on the cover. She opened it and noticed more goo. A smile crept onto her face. The thief left traces with their travel. Amateur mistake. Yukari pulled off a glove and placed her hand on the residue. She ripped off a large chunk of the remnant of magic and opened a gap. She threw it into it, the eyes blinking after a few seconds.

"Hmm, perfect. I will go check on our little thief. Tell Eirin I said hello." Yukari waved goodbye stepping in.

"Farewell sage."

Yukari stepped out into the bamboo forest. Several stalks in front of her had been pushed and damaged. She walked forward in silence for a few minutes before coming a welcome sight. Drying blood sat on the ground, the still red liquid leaving a trail.

"I do love when they're careless." she joked, following the blood.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

Reisen ran along the dirt path, a fear instilled in her heart from the fact her Master was worried. She doesn't normally act like that, no matter what. This was serious. She saw the village appear in the distance and ran faster and quickly reached the settlement. She ran into the village, tripping over a small hole in the ground, falling flat on her face...knocking herself out. Great job there with that warning. Several villagers stopped and rushed over, checking on her.

Keine looked out of her office window, having just finished lunch. She was supposed to be leaving to get back to her class, lessons re-beginning soon. But seeing the rabbit, clearly panicked, sprint into the village and knock herself out seemed a little more important. She quickly exited the school and walked over to the crowd, pushing through them.

"Hey, come now everyone, give her space." she ordered, the humans backing away.

She crouched down and moved her head, checking her. A small trickle of blood escaped a cut on her forehead. She picked her up.

"I will see to her, can someone inform my class that lessons will have to be cut short today." Keine turned and walked back into the school, the 'guard' that stood outside the school nodding.

In actuality it was an overprotective mother obsessed with the idea that youkai went to the school in secret, which was an idiotically notion. She carried her to her office, placing her on a couch used for parental meetings. She grabbed a first aid kit that she had bought from Reisen last week and cleaned and placed a plaster on the cut. She sat down at her desk and began working, waiting for the rabbit to awaken.

* * *

 **10 minutes later**

Reisen jerked awaken, breathing quickly and glancing around. Before she could move, she sensed someone.

"Oh good, you're awake. I was wondering if you would sleep for soon time or not." Keine commented placing down a page.

"Wha?...Where am I...no! I need to tell everyone…!" she jumped to her feet, vertigo instantly grounding her.

Keine rolled her eyes, standing and walking over.

"What's wrong? You ran into the village and tripped, slamming face first into the ground. Did something happen?"

"Blood, blood was stolen!"

"Okay…"

"Vampire blood! Someone with portals stole vampire blood, it could be used to spread vampirism! We have to tell everyone!" Reisen yelled, attempting to stand.

"What-?!" Keine breathed, something clicking in her head "Reimu! She...oh gods no…" Keine knit her brow, rubbing her chin "Stay here."

"What, no I-" "You running around screaming that will only spread panic! We need to think about this. Is that all you know?" Keine asked, cutting off the rabbit.

"Yes, someone stole blood and Master's notes on it all."

"I see, do the Scarlets know?"

"I don't know how much they know. Sakuya visiting is what started the search that lead to the discovery of the theft. I was supposed to go to the mansion after telling the village." Reisen explained.

"I see, we should keep this hidden for now. Panic and a riot will get people hurt. And if the thief knows you know about the blood, they will not act soon. We are going to the mansion. I need to ask about the shrine maiden." Keine helped the girl to her feet "Come, we leave now."

* * *

 **Unknown cave**

The midnight haired girl sat on a damp rock, somewhat annoyed still by the pain in her hand. She pulled out the stolen report.

 _Hopefully this gives some insight into how the blood affects non-humans, I need to know if it works_ she thought as she began to read.

It took less than a minute for her to begin to flip through pages, growing bored. The woman, Eirin seemed to love explaining exactly how she was to perform the experiment. If she was the tester and writer, why did she need so much detail. It only served to slow her down. Finally, she reached a part that interested her. Little did she know, someone crept up behind her.

"HEY!" someone shouted in her ear, making her jump "Whatcha doing in my hideout?" a mostly black haired girl asked, smiling devilishly.

"What? I didn't know anyone was here."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Whatcha reading?" she asked.

"Nothing important to you, I'll be leav-" the girl in front of her snapped her fingers, a pulse of inverted colours spreading out.

She blinked, before suddenly falling upwards. She screamed as she held her skirt up...down...someway anyway, dropping the report and landing on the roof.

"P-Put me down now b-before I-!" "But for you, you are down!" the horned girl laughed catching the dropped stapled paper.

"Now, let's see...hemomorphic a...blah blah blah, looks boring."

"Raaagh! Put me down now!" the flipped girl yelled again.

"Only if you promise to hate me forever!" her capture joked "And tell everyone Seija Kijin got to see your panties!"

Seija let out a gleeful giggle and stuck out her tongue. The inverted girl began grinding her teeth, a stare burning into the horned girl.

"You are messing with the wrong person." she warned.

"Oh really?" she snapped her fingers and her captive girl fell from the roof, Seija catching her in a bridal carry-like pose "Who am I messing with?"

"My name is Kageshō, the last youkai you'll ever see."

"Ohhh, scary, what are you gonna do-humf!?...Blek...gack…" Seija suddenly gave a pained gasp and cough, blood running from her mouth, dropping Kageshō.

She glanced down, red staining her white shirt, a black, shadowy, pointed tendril piercing her torso. It tore itself free, fading into the shadows as her former captive snatched the report out of her hand.

"...Uhhh...ahhh, w-wha…? Seija was in shock, stepping forward slightly "That...was, wasn't...I…"

"Huh, serves you right, good bye." Kageshō gave a sadistic smile, melding into shadows.

Seija was gasping in air, she could barely breathe. She struggled to walk towards the cave entrance, blood pouring from the hole in her body. She fell forward, barely catching herself. Her vision blurred. As she covered the wound with her hand in a vain attempt to stop the blood, she heard footsteps. In the dim light and blurry haze she saw someone in purple. Seija held out her blood soaked hand.

"H-H...help...m-me…" she whispered as she collapsed, fainting.

* * *

AN: Hello, we have a name for the mystery Youkai.  
I will know explain how I came up with that name. I got google translate, and typed in several words to get their Japanese symbols, and then turned it to Japanese to english and started shoving symbols to together, until I came to 影消, which is Kage shō, or shade, with the symbols being Kage, shadow, and shō, being disappear. I sent fifteenth minutes on that, it was surprisingly fun. I think it works.

Things are getting a bit messy, and bloody. Which is to be expected I guess, blood's in the title.

Review, Pm, correct me and say the name is grammatically wrong or something, I'm bad at languages.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Information

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

Yukari looked down at Seija, blood flowing out of her.

"Huh, well, not what I expected."

She bent down and examined her. The girl was barely breathing. She was going to die, nothing could stop that. The wound was fatal. Yukari sighed.

 _What caused this? I doubt it was accidental. I need to ask her, but..._ she looked over her again _Hmm, time to commit a little sin._

She opened a gap, picking up the dying amanojaku.

"So close to death, balanced on the edge. With one push, you'll fall, then, all I must do is simply pull you back to the other side." she smiled, quickly using her hand to pierce Seija's chest, killing her "Life and death, so easy to pass between." she threw her into the gap, a flash exiting it as a second opens and flings the now living girl into the wall, the jolt waking her.

"Wha…? What the?! How? What?! I'm dead! Where's my body...why am in my body?! I'm a zombie!? NOOOO, I don't wanna rot! People will just laugh at me as I sit on the ground as a pile of goo and bones, AHHH!" Seija yelled out, confused and scared.

"You are not dead. Well, you were for a second but…" Yukari smiled.

"I'm not...good, I guesssss oh s**t not you! Quickly, someone kill me! I don't wanna deal with you!"

As if answering her call, a tendril burst out from the shadows, shooting towards her.

"I didn't mean literally!" she cried out as the thing approached her.

Seija closed her eyes, before noticing that it didn't hit her. She opened an eye to see Yukari standing in front of her, the spike gripped in her hand, the body struggling to break free.

"Well now, this is unusually. Someone made something like this to not only kill you, but also guard your body? How odd." she held up her other hand, a circle appearing, making a sigil "If they wish to use death as a rule, then no need to restrict myself." a beam of magic shot out and cut along the shadowy body, a spray of mist escaping as she near cut the thing in half.

Yukari rushed forward towards its base, coming to a swirling portal it was extending from. She tore the tendril free, the mass falling to the ground, writhing. One hand on each side, Yukari pried the closing portal open, gazing into the darkness.

"Hello, are you there little thief? You have some explaining to do." she spoke into the hole, her tone portraying veiled anger.

"What the hell?! No way, stop that!" someone shouted on the other side, the sides pushing harder to snap shut.

"Wow, you chose to stay with your construct? You should have run, not many people could have reacted and dealt with it. How many mistakes will you make?"

"That's the girl that stabbed me! Umm, Kage…, Kage...Kageshō, that's it!" Sejia exclaimed jumping up.

"It is? Well then, come here…!" Yukari reached into the shadows, the sound of someone running around panicking coming through the portal.

"No, stay away you b***h, piss off!" a blast of energy pushed Yukari back, the gap made of darkness closing instantly, not leaving trace this time.

Yukari dusted off her dress, the attack having not even scratched her.

"Hmm, well then, so this youkai wishing to forgo spell cards it appears. Not that it matters, her crimes call of some harsh, punishment."

"Yeah, I was just messing with her and she stabbed me! I just wanted to read the stupid paper. It was boring anyway." Seija shrugged.

"Ahh, you saw what she had? Pray tell, what was it?" Yukari turned to the horned girl, who instantly stepped away from her.

"Uhh, well…" "Now, allow me to explain something to you. You clearly fear me, I dislike you greatly" that earned a smirk "But I need to know what that Kageshō had, and if you lie to me after I so graciously saved you from an early grave," Seija backed away from the youkai, hitting the cave wall " I can so easily **return you to it**." she slammed her hand into the wall, shaking the stone.

She leaned close to her information source. She trapped Seija in an odd version of a kabedon, except it was between a tall girl and shorter girl, against a wet cave wall, and one was near pissing herself in fear. So just like one of Sanae's japanese animes.

"Well then?" she asked, smiling.

Seija only nodded, terrified.

* * *

Yukari walked out of the cave, smiling.

 _Well, that was informative, in a way._ she looked back "Now, I'll need help to track down this Kageshō. I wonder what Ran's doing." she walked into a gap.

Seija walked out of the cave, shaking.

"Why did it have to be her...well, I'd be dead if it was someone else, so I guess it was better it was her. Uuuuh, I need a new shirt." she commented looking at the bloody shirt with a hole in the middle of her chest "Gotta go steal a new one I guess…"

"Huh, so you were this close to the forest? Odd choice." she heard someone say.

Seija looked up to see Kagerou sitting on a rock on top of the cave entrance.

"Nope! Already had to deal with someone with Kage in the name trying to kill me, I'm out!" she yelled sprinting off.

"What? Hey, come back here!"

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

Eirin opened another filing cabinet, giving a sigh of relief. She pulled out a folder with 'hemomorphic arcanteria' stuck on the front. She walked out of the side room to find Kaguya sitting on the bed, still petting Aya. She looked up.

"Did you find your research?" she asked.

"Yes, I did have a copy. But before I do anything." she placed the folder on the bed and picked Aya "I have to deal with these two. Aya will take no time and Marisa still needs to be seen to." she walked over to the patient room.

Kaguya picked up the folder and opened it. It was empty except for a single, small note.

"Donated to Scarlet Devil mansion library to complete the selection of Vampire related works, books and tomes, circa 1986" Kaguya read out.

Eirin walked back in.

"What did you say?" she asked.

"You gave it away some 30 years ago it seems."

Eirin looked at the note before grabbing Marisa, eye twitching.

"Looks like I'll be joining Reisen at the mansion." she strained picking up a few bottles and small wooden medical sticks, walking away.

The lady of Eientei closed the folder and hopped off the bed. Her friend was getting annoyed, better to leave her to fume and calm herself.

* * *

 **Scarlet Devil mansion library**

Patchouli sat at the head of the library, a stack of eight books beside her, a ninth on her hand. Three sat in a separate growing pile. She was skimming it, attempting to locate anything pertaining to a cure for vampirism. Nothing was appearing. She finished the book and placed it on top of the three other finished one.

"How to spread it, kill the vampire, recognise conversion, weakness', but no cures? This is unusually. All curses can be broken, but this appears to a more permanent affair. I don't like this." she mused.

"Miss Patchouli, I found something!" her assistant cried out landing beside her.

She held out a bundle of yellowed pages stapled together.

"What's this?"

"I found it in the 'to be cataloged' pile at the back. I flicked through it and it mentions vampires."

"I see." Patchouli read the cover "Hemomorphic arcanteria...by Eirin? When did I get this? Well, no matter." she shrugged flipping through the pages.

At first, it was a lot of fluff, a detailed explanation of how the, according to the report, hybrid disease/curse effects the human body. Then it moved onto experiments done with the blood she had on human tissues and youkai tissue, noting on how the blood was toxic to the cells of youkai, acting as a poison, preventing youkai from becoming vampires. The next few pages detailed how to cure 'vampiric poisoning', a difficult task supposedly. That didn't bode well.

"If curing the damage and purging the curse is difficult for youkai's with the blood not even truly infecting them, that may mean vampirism itself will be a nightmare to remove." she whispered.

Her assistant didn't answer, too engrossed in reading the next book.

Patchouli continued on, finding an answer on the next page.

'If the treatment for the blood and cell poisoning is applied to converted human tissue, it results in total cell dead of the area, before cell lysis occurs, infecting other cells with the cure. This results in more death before the tissue completely liquids into a gel-like paste of cellular contains within minutes. This would surely lead to the death of the vampire over the course of an hour.'

"Well then, not using that."

The next few pages described other cures for the poisoning, each noting how dangerous it was for vampires. She came to an interesting note at the bottom of the next cure protocol.

'Note: Further tests required, permanent mass cell death not experienced in vampiric tissue.'

Intrigued Patchouli started to read. The page detailed a concoction made of unusual ingredients. Normal things like mint, yeast and water were present, but also used was...blood of immortals and that of 'divinity from the stars'? And lunarian soil, udonge leaves...did udonge even have leaves? It seemed like this cure was made with substances that were, 'pure', as it was.

"Hmm, I suppose if you wish to remove a curse's corruption, you would need purity to expunge it. But…" she continued reading.

'When tested on vampiric tissue, it was found that cells were killed along with the microbe, but functions restarted after a few minutes. It is unknown how this would affect an actual vampire, more testing required.'

After that, the next few pages were discussing how it failed to infect or poison oni, devils or gods before abruptly ending.

 _Now, that was useful, it may not work, but it's something_ "Hey." she snapped her fingers towards her assistant, the devil jumping in fright "Go see if we have anything listed in the ingredients of this potion. We won't have a lot of the stuff in it, but find as much as possible."

"Okay!...I'm pretty certain we won't have moon god blood. Or will we? Sakuya does get the blood from Eientei. But that would be the immortal blood. Is divinity of the stars moon god blood or something else? And is Eirin still a god if immortal?" she asked rapidly.

"I don't know, just go look for that stuff." she brushed off grabbing the book the devil had been browsing.

The girl flew off as Patchouli opened the book.

* * *

Reisen ran behind Keine, the teacher moving at an impressive pace, and within a few minutes, they reached the misty lake, Reisen slowing as she gasped in air.

"K-Keine, please slow down, I haven't ran in years." Reisen begged.

"Ugh...sorry, I just don't like this. Something is very wrong, and I'd like to see it fixed, fast."

"Yeah, I get it. Just give me a min-" Cirno please!" someone yelling interrupted her.

They looked to the sky to see Cirno attempting to fly off, but a green haired fairy holding onto her.

"Let me go! I'm gonna go beat up Reimu for killing me when I was trying to help!" Cirno stated struggling.

"No, something weird is going on with her! She used purple lightning and got sunburned really easily. She might hurt you again!"

"So what? I'll just come back and go after her again, and again and again until I get her!"

"What if she kills you properly or something?" her friend asked "She seemed really different."

"You can't kill a fairy, only hurt us. And I'm angry, so let me go!"

The two fairies continued to struggle in the air, until Keine sighed.

"What are you two doing?" she asked.

Cirno looked down, frowning.

"I wanna go beat up Reimu! She killed me when I was trying to help her, so go away teacher lady." Cirno shouted down, breaking free from her friends grip.

"Do you you even know where she is?" Reisen questioned as Cirno readied to speed off.

That stopped the fairy dead. She glanced down before opening her mouth...and shutting it.

"Cirno, please calm down, you get super reckless when your angry." Her friend flew up to her "She probably didn't mean to."

"Come down here." Keine ordered.

The two turned to her and descended to Reisen and Keine.

"So, tell me about what happened with Reimu."

"Okay, so, she ran up to the lake with an umbrella and was looking around, so I landed on it and asked what's wrong. She tells me to go away, I don't wanna, she tries to leave. But I stop her!" Cirno explained.

"She said her powers broke and needs the library girl from the mansion to fix them." the green fairy added.

"Hey, she's probably in the mansion still!" Cirno realised turning to speed off.

Keine stopped her by grabbing a wing, tugging her back.

"Cirno, focus. Finish the story."

"Wha…? Uhh, oh yeah, we wanted to help and suggested stuff to help, but she wasn't listening, so I threw an iceball at her."

"She got angry and shot a electric magic bolt at Cirno and killed her...and I ran away."

"Okay then, so I agree that Reimu has to apologise to you, but I think fighting over something so small would be counterproductive. So come with us to the mansion, Reimu can say sorry, then you two will make up and everything will be fine, okay." Keine suggested crouching down to the fairy's height, treating her like an upset child.

"Hmf...fine."

"Good, now you two, lets go. Goodbye." Keine waved to Cirno's friend as Reisen, herself and Cirno briskly walked off.

"G-Good luck!"

The group of three approached the Scarlet Devil mansion, spotting Sakuya talking to the gate guard, Meiling. She noticed them, before saying something to Meiling and walking through the gate and into the mansion. Keine and Reisen stopped but Cirno attempted to walk on, Meiling grabbing her collar, stopping her before picking her up.

"Nope." she placed Cirno down in front of her.

The fairy was undeterred, walking forward again.

"Nope." she picked up Cirno and put her under her arm, the fairy flailing wildly.

"So, why are you two here?" Meiling asked, ignoring Cirno.

"Well, Master asked me to come here to talk to Remilia about some stolen vampire blood." Reisen stated.

"Okay, and you." she pointed to Keine.

"If the Hakurei shrine maiden is here, I need to speak to her."

Meiling nodded and held up Cirno to head level.

"And you?"

"I want Reimu to say sorry for killing me!"

"Hmm, got it. So, Reisen, you go in, sounds important enough. Sakuya literally just told me Reimu is inside, so Keine, go talk to her fast and leave. Also, take this with you." she held up Cirno.

"Hey!"

"Thank you, I'll be as quick as possible." Keine grabbed Cirno, putting her under her arm and the two walked in with Cirno flailing more.

"Hey, let me go! I'm not a doll! I can walk or fly!"

Meiling just started laughing, happy the teacher went along with the joke.

 _Hopefully the shrine girl doesn't blow a gasket with those three seeing her like that. Uhh, not that I really care._

* * *

Remilia lead Reimu to a nearby meant to be empty room, now filled with several wooden frames with leaves and scrap cloth draped over them. Reimu looked around at the...targets, yeah that's a decent description.

"So, what do you think?" she asked as a fairy flew over.

"Umm, we ran out of leaves and had to use the ruined table cloths. Sakuya told us not to ever use leaves still on the trees when we make stuff to mess with because it ruins...something, I don't remember." she said shrugging.

"That's fine, I don't care, I'm surprised you got that much when I was gone for a few minutes."

"Wait, you said you went to make sure they were making them right." Reimu turned to her.

"Well, had to go check on my sister who was screaming and exploding."

"Good point. Is she alright though? We kind of left her there." Reimu questioned as the memory of Flandre thrown haphazardly onto a damaged couch popped into her head.

"She's fine, better to just let her sleep." Remilia hand waved.

"So, what do I do?"

"Hmm, I don't know, train? Practice? How would I know."

"Wha-?! But you suggested this!"

"Yeah, it's a good idea to do, but I've never trained, and Flan just relies on the spell cards to keep herself in check. Do what you do when you train. I knew you needed targets, so I got them made." Remilia smirked walking over to a chair and sitting down next to two tired fairies.

"Fantastic…" Reimu deadpanned.

She walked over to the targets. Okay, start simple, she didn't have her yin-yang balls or charms, so projectiles are something important. Something small, weak, usable in abundance. She held up her hand, a small sigil appearing. She focused on it, noticing the symbols and image at its center. A broken yin-yang orb, and several altered words. That's worrying. A pulse of magic through it created a bullet, the small projectile firing out at speed...and hit the target with enough force to smash the thing to pieces, splinters flying everywhere.

"What the!? Damn it, that was barely anything."

"Try multiple shots. A single one would have all the power, split it up." Remilia suggested.

Reimu aimed at a second one, firing several bullets. The target got pelted by them and was torn apart...slower...ish. Reimu frowned. Stupid vampire magic, being naturally destructive. Reimu tried several more times, using different strengths. Her attacks murdered everything easily. She grit her teeth. Stupid weak wood!

"Just survive a single volley!" she yelled, anger boiling up from her blood.

She instinctively summoned a larger sigil and stomped her foot, frustrated. A barrage of purple lightning bolts escaped the sigil, the arcane energy ripping through the targets, vaporising a few to dust and 'just' destroying the rest. They then continued on and struck the wall, gouging out chunks and burning paint and underlying wood and brick. Well crap.

"Ahh?! I-I didn't mean to do that!" she gasped stepping away.

"Huh, so that at least proves that you have the strength to destroy anything in your way. And that you have an anger problem." Remilia commented.

"Aww, we spent ages making that stuff and the new girl just wrecked it in seconds." a brown haired fairy complained.

"Excuse me, Lady Remilia, we have guests." Sakuya walked in and spotted Reimu in one of her outfits.

She sighed.

"Whhhhhy?" she shook her head exhaling.

"This was not my choice." Reimu said quickly, folding her arms.

It's not her fault her outf-guests?! She froze as the realisation hit her.

"Umm, hello?" Reisen stuck her head through the half open door.

"Reimu!" Cirno cried appearing above her and leaning on her head.

And finally someone opened the door fully, the two nearly falling. Keine stood in the doorway. She looked at Reimu's wings.

"Well, looks like I was right. Reimu, we have to talk."

* * *

Yukari appeared outside her home and walked in, kicking off her boots, looking around.

"Hello? Is anyone here? Ra-" something landing on her head, which silenced her.

She peeled the thing off, knocking her mop cap off and stared at it. It was Chen.

"Oh Lady Yukari! S-Sorry, I thought you were Ran."

"I see, do I look like her?"

"Noooo, but I wasn't looking or listening, just waiting for someone to come it. I thought you'd be Ran. She said she'd be back in a minute ages ago." she explained.

"I see. Well, she have better return soon, I have a-" Ran opened the door and spotted the two "job for her." she finished with a smile.

"Oh, great…"

* * *

AN: I've been a bit busy, sorry.

I've just finished this and I don't believe there's any mistakes but I have some work to do so I'm going off for a bit, hope you like it.

Review, Pm.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Confidence

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

Ran looked at the two staring at her and instantly knew Yukari was scheming something. Hopefully something important. Although knowing her master, she doubted it. Yukari dropped Chen, the girl landing on her feet with a confused expression.

"Ah Ran, I have a very important job for you, one I'd like you to begin on immediately." Yukari smiled, walking over.

"Yes, what is it Lady Yukari?" Ran asked half-heartedly.

Without breaking her smile, she quickly flicked Ran's nose, the sudden force making her stagger back, grabbing it.

"Don't take that tone with me, this job is very urgent. I need you to track someone down, quickly."

Ran looked at Yukari, surprised that it actually seemed important. She wiped her sore nose, a trickle of blood escaping from a redden nostril.

"Who? Youkai, oni, devil, human...god?" she wondered counting on her fingers as she went for emphasis.

"A youkai by the name of Kageshō. She is currently wearing, from the description I received, a dark blue polo shirt, a dark skirt, and open toed sandals. She has, quoted exactly 'midnight coloured hair', so unnaturally black hair and golden eyes. Be warned, she seeks to harm any how find her, she already fatally wounded someone. You do not need to hold yourself back. Just make sure she lives." Yukari explained as Ran nodded along.

"Okay, one question, polo shirt?"

"A shirt that only buttons down to here." Yukari pointed to the top of her breast.

"Hmm, got it. May I ask, what she did to get you on her ass?"

"Simple, she appears to have stolen vampire blood and converted someone important into one, and possible plans to with others."

Ran opened her mouth to respond, before pursing her lip. That...certainly was important.

"I'll leave straight away, where was she last?"

"A cave by the bamboo forest." Yukari opened a gap "Beware of shadowy tendrils." she warned.

"By the way, who...?" Yukari shook her head.

"Later, finding her is more important."

Ran sighed before stepping into the eye filled portal right away, haven not taken her shoes off. Chen ran over.

"Can I go help?"

"No, no, this too dangerous for you, you'll stay here." the gap snapped shut "*yawn* in fact, I've a good idea, all this moving around has left me a tad drained. You can be my alarm clock. Wake me in an hour or two." Yukari ordered walking into the house, the small girl pouting."

"I'm not a clock!" she whined.

Yukari looked back at her "Hmm?" Chen shrank under the gaze, relenting in seconds "Good girl." she smirked shutting a door.

* * *

Reimu stood frozen, unable to move under Keine's fold armed stare. Sakuya guessed she had...what did Sanae call it…'blue screened?' After a few more seconds, Keine sighed.

"I don't have all day." she walked over and picked up a comically rigid Reimu "Is there a free room?" she turned to the Lady of the mansion.

"Most of the rooms are free." she replied with a shrug.

The teacher nodded and walked out of the room, Cirno wandering after. The vampire looked at the rabbit.

"And you?"

"Oh...umm, I need to talk to you about, that." she pointed at the empty door, clearly meaning Reimu.

"Mmm, okay, everyone, leave." she ordered as the group of fairies all bolted out of the room "Sakuya, could you check on Flandre and repair the room eight ways northeast, and then repair Reimu's shrine maid outfit with holes for her wings." she added.

"Of course Lady Remilia." the maid bowed, leaving.

After the maid left, Reisen was left standing by the door, looking around. Remilia patted the couch she was on, the rabbit walking over and sitting down. The vampire slide over and smiled at her, exposing a fang.

"Well?"

"Ha, yeah, okay, so did you give my master blood...50 or so, around that, years ago?"

Remilia leaned back, lost in thought for a minute. Had she? That may have happened...but she couldn't quite remember. Until the Scarlet Mists, she didn't do much, at all really. The years blended together. After a bit more focus, something came to her.

 _ **An insistent knocking on the front door was slowly driving Remilia insane. Who could possible want something from her! She hadn't touched any humans in years, and that Meiling girl was supposed to keep people away. The vampire stomped over the door, ready to open and slam it into the person's face. She opened the door, seeing a tall woman, she scowled and slammed the door before she spoke, but the door didn't close, instead crushing one of the woman's feet. She opened and closed the door rapidly, each with more strength, believing it would force the foot to retreat. It refused. Finally, she opened the door.**_

" _ **Yes?" she asked with fake politeness.**_

" _ **Remilia Scarlet, vampire correct?" she asked.**_

" _ **Yes, and now for the normal answers. No, I didn't kill your husband, child and/or family pet, no, vampirism isn't airborne, and yes, the gap woman knows I exist. Finally, my sister is secure. Got it? Good, bye." she closed the door, the woman grabbing it.**_

" _ **No, none of that, I have a favour to ask of you. My name is Eirin, and I wish to conduct experiments on the disease known as vampisim." Eirin stated holding up a blood bag, plastic tube and syringes "May I have some blood?"**_

 _ **Remilia looked up at her. This is...different.**_

" _ **You better not want to to spread this around. I had enough trouble when I got here."**_

" _ **No, I will keep it in a safe location and destroy it when I am finished, okay?"**_

 _ **The woman then walked through the door, ignoring Remilia's shocked expression as she was nearly knocked over by her. Who the hell does she think she think she is? She hasn't even agreed yet. Remilia walked over, annoyed.**_

" _ **Hey, I haven't agreed yet! You can't just barge into my mansion like you own it!" she yelled.**_

 _ **The woman ignored her, before looking down.**_

" _ **Are you ready?"**_

 _ **Remilia opened her mouth, growing increasingly frustrated. The woman just crouched down and stabbed her arm with a needle!**_

" _ **Ow! What are you-?!" before she could continue, Eirin sucked on the end of the tube attached to the needle, blood flowing into it and into the blood bag she slotted it into.**_

 _ **She just looked on in pure shock as she drained out a full bag before pulling out the needle. Remilia jumped away and flew into the air.**_

" _ **I didn't say you could do that!" called forth a spear of lightning, throwing it at her.**_

 _ **Eirin smiled and effortlessly pulled a bow from her back and shot an arrow at the incoming spear, the arrow disintegrating as it destroyed the spear. Remilia called another one and descended on the woman, anger on her face. She was pissed off! She thrust her magic weapon down, Eirin dodging it. She landed and spun around, a slash missing her. She charged forward, a stab missing again. She was growing more enraged, summoned a sigil and shot the woman's legs out from beneath her and ran her through with the spear.**_

" _ **Hah, how to you like-gah?!" Remilia yelped as Eirin stabbed her neck with one of the syringes, extracting blood.**_

 _ **She jumped back, the needle coming free, filled. Eirin stood tall, unfazed by the lightning spear and hole in her gut. She yanked it out.**_

" _ **Come now, just let me take three more syringes and I'll be gone." she reasoned, ignoring the blood leaking from her mouth…**_

Remilia snapped back to reality as her memory ended, the rest eluding. She remember enough though.

"Yeah, gave, let's use that wording." she stated dryly.

Destroy it my ass, if she still had it.

"Okay, so someone stole your blood, well the blood pack and two of the three syringes of it."

"Pretty sure there was four…"

"Master probably used that in the experiments all those years ago, and would have used the rest when she continued." Reisen reasoned.

"I guess. So you're here to tell me that Reimu was turned, by my 50 year old blood."

"Yes, and that master will most certainly help to cure her of this disease!"

"Hmm, well, you can be the one to tell her that then."

"...what…?"

* * *

Keine carried Reimu away from the room, the girl finally losing her rigidness, going limp. She looked at the shrine maiden under her arm, clearly avoiding her gaze. She was not taking her being here well. Which of course is understandable, especially from the reaction from this morning. But this needed to be discussed. She opened a door at random, opening to an empty room, one of many the mansion had. She placed Reimu down, Cirno following them and walking up to her. The fairy puffed up her chest and proceeded to punch Reimu in the stomach. There wasn't any force behind it though, she'd didn't really react.

"Well, don't you have something to say to Cirno?" Keine asked.

"Hmmf...sorry for killing you." she whispered.

The fairy frowned, crossing her arms, before walking away and sitting on the floor.

"When Patchouli fixes you, you have to pay me back in...things!" she yelled, having clearly not thought about her end goal.

Reimu only shook her head, a slight grin on her face, before looking towards Keine. The killed the smile.

"You must hate me…" she breathed.

Keine didn't answer.

"The Hakurei shrine maiden, tasked with keeping peace and suppressing gods, youkai, and threats, turned into a monster she is supposed to destroy or seal. After not doing her job properly for ages. I must be a failure to you...everyone. I've become one of what the humans fear the most." tears threatened to escape her "When everyone finds out...it's over. I can't use my powers. I can only use this stuff" she shot a lightning bolt at the wall "but my powers as a Hakurei? Gone...probably forever. Everyone is gonna turn on me and try to kill me and get someone new to fix all-" Keine silenced her with a blow to the face, her own twisted to one of rage.

"This why I find you insufferable! You laze around doing nothing until something bad happens and then rush to fix it, pissing everyone off. But this time? This is worse, instead of trying to fix this with headstrong stupidity or rashness, you're choosing to wallow in self pity and think of mindless make believe hate? No one has said they hate you! At most you'll get a bit of mocking or fear before you sort this out! You didn't cause this, but the person who did is out there, plotting gods knows what. Instead of sticking your head up your ass worrying, why not get a grip and fix your S**T!" she shouted at the girl, held by the baggy collar of the maid outfit "It doesn't matter if your human or youkai, just do your damned job and let your friends you made fix the vampire problem." she dropped Reimu.

Cirno looked over, scooting over to the girl on the floor.

"Does it matter what you are?" she asked "I mean, that reporter lady and me have helped fix this stuff before."

"You made one of the problems you fixed." Reimu glared at the ice fairy.

"Reimu, I understand that this is probably a trying time for you, and you're unsure on what to do, but remember that you have people that for some reason like to around you and will help." Keine finished, hand on hips.

Reimu's face changed to one of annoyance.

"Well congrats...you ruined this entire scene." she complained.

"Hff, well sorry." Keine spat in fake hurt.

"Umm, are you angry again, I thought we were at the happy make up part?" Cirno looked at the two, confused.

"Nuhhh...just...just forget it Cirno."

* * *

Patchouli closed the book she had open, shaking her head. She should just stop for now. The books she had didn't have a cure of vampirism, only that report from Eirin had any merit. She fell back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling. This was certainly something she had little idea about. Taking a minute to rest, her mind wandered to a question. Why did Remilia want this information? Did she want to turn herself into a human? No, she would have asked years ago if she did. And Yukari was with them. Did something happen? She train of thought halted when a smiling face popped into view.

"Miss Patchouli, I found some stuff." the devil announced.

"Mmm? How much?" Patchouli sat up and turned to her.

The girl dumped a bag onto the table. With a frown, the librarian opened the bag and fished out the contents. Mint...yeast...a bottle of water, a...mushroom? A bag of, grit. It kept on going. What was half of this stuff?

"Care to explain?"

"Soooo, the first lot of stuff was easy to find, I got it out of the kitchen. Then it asked for a mushroom, which I rooted out of a labeled jar in a cabinet in your alchemy room and some other alchemily sounding stuff was there too. I didn't know what the soil thing was so I grabbed some from the garden. And we don't have the right kind of tree. I didn't go for the blood." she explained.

"Hmm, well, good enough. Also…" she grabbed one of her head wings "Didn't I tell you not to go into my room or lab?"

"Wah!? S-Sorry! I was just trying to get everything and the mushroom and powdery stuff wasn't in the kitchen so I guessed you'd have some!" she cried clawing at her head, one eye closed.

Patchouli released the wing, sighing. She had asked her to gather as much as possible, and she had found more than she thought she would. She stood and put all the materials back in the bag, grabbing the report, turning to leave.

"Read the last few books to see if there's anything there, I doubt it but you never know." she ordered, the devil nodding grabbing the next book.

 _Well, time for some explanations._ She whispered in her head.

After walking to the empty dining hall, she realised she didn't know where Remilia was. She should have asked earlier. She stuck her head in the kitchen, no one. She wandered into the halls and came to the master bedroom, no one. She walked aimlessly around the halls of the mansion, frowning. After ten minutes, she stopped, panting. She was getting tired. Where was sh-?!

A sudden crash shook the mansion, making her jump. She ran over to the noise to find that something had sped off and crashed through a door. Sakuya stood still, surprise on her face.

"What was that?" Patchouli asked.

"Uhhh, I woke up Lady Flandre from her 'sleep' and was bring her to Lady Remilia when I think overheard something. She took off after that." Sakuya stated, confused.

The door beside them opened to a scared Reisen and a concerned Remilia.

"What was that?" she asked.

"Something you said set her off."

"Umm, what did you said that could have-?" Remilia groaning loudly stopped Reisen.

"The part about it being my blood…"

Sakuya's face had a flash of realisation.

"Oh, I believe I get it…" the four all looked at the blown open door.

* * *

"Aha HA! I knew it! Reimu is my sister!" Flandre cried out as she crushed Reimu in a tight hug, having just shot into the room.

"F-Flandre?! Where did you come from?" Reimu squeezed out, struggling to speak.

"Ah! The blond vampire girl's here now?!" Cirno fell back, shocked at the sudden appearance.

"Hey, we were talking little lady." Keine seemed unfazed, prying Flandre off Reimu with some difficulty.

Remilia stuck her head in.

"Everything okay?"

"Apart from your sister glomping Reimu, yeah." Cirno smirked.

"Yes, I believe we have everything sorted now. I'll be returning to the village now to keep an eye out for anything. Come on Cirno." Keine dropped Flandre and grabbed Cirno "The gatekeeper wanted us out as soon as we were done."

Cirno started to struggle.

"I can walk! Put me down!" she yelled as she was carried off.

"Heh, and remember what we talked about Reimu, weird friends." she added leaving.

"She just had to have the last word, didn't she…" Reimu sighed.

"Oh, so that's why you wanted a cure." Patchouli commented seeing Reimu's wings and pale skin.

"Yes...speaking of…?" Remilia rolled her hand.

"I have, something." she held up the report.

"Oh, is that by master?" Reisen asked.

Patchouli nodded.

* * *

 **Near the bamboo forest**

Ran stepped out of the gap, looking around. So this youkai was last near here. Not a lot to go on. She was in a cave yes? Where o'where was that cave. Yukari could have put her next to it, but no, that would be the sensible thing to do. Although Ran didn't have to walk far as it turned out, quickly finding a cave two minutes away. So Yukari only missed the mark...honestly she was surprised it wasn't deliberate. Ran walked to the cave entrance and stopped at an unusually sight. Sat on the side of the entrance was a girl, wolf ears on her head. Although she wasn't sitting on the rock.

"Get off me!" Seija shouted from under her, flailing wildly.

"No way, even if they lowered the bounty, I'm still going to get it." Kagerou shrugged.

"You only caught me because I tripped, I demand I rematch!"

"Wow you're whiny, be quiet while I think of a way to transport you to...hmm, do bring you to Shinmyoumaru for the reward? I know she upped it, but she wasn't the original person who wanted you caught." Kagerou reasoned, unsure of want to do.

Ran decided to approach.

"Oh, you're that fox servant of the gap woman" Kagerou noticed Ran, the woman scowling.

That was wrong, on at least two different points.

"Close enough. Have you two seen a youkai by the name of Kageshō? I can give-" That's the b**th that killed me!" Seija interrupted her.

"Shush." Kagerou bonked her on the head "Continue."

"She supposedly is wearing a dark blue polo shirt, a dark skirt, and open toed sandals. She has very black hair and golden eyes." Ran resited.

"So the terrifying woman is getting you to look for her? She too lazy or something?" Seija asked.

"That doesn't matter, what does is finding her, she's dangerous."

"I know, she killed me!" Seija yelled again.

"How are you alive then?" Kagerou asked.

"Because the woman with the gaps did something-Idon'tknow!" she spat, clearly no use.

"She has some blood that can make vampires, can use shadowy gaps and tendrils to kill, I need to stop her...and drag her back to Lady Yukari.

"Wow, someone worse than you then?" Kagerou wiggled up and down, crushing Seija slightly "You know, if you want, I could help." she hopped off Seija "And we can get the last witness to help."

"I'm not helping-" "But if she spreads vampires around, everyone will hate her, even more than you." Kagerou cut her off with a mocking tone.

All Seija did was exhale loudly, clearly pissed off.

"I'm not getting out of this, am I?"

She only got a bored look from fox and a smile from the wolf.

* * *

 **Deep in the forest**

Kageshō exited a portal and manually slammed it shut, out of breath. There wasn't any leftover magic or goo, she'd jumped three times, there was no way that youkai could follow her. She was safe...to an extent...slightly...maybe. She collapsed onto the damp ground, shaded by the trees. Shadows...her prefered light level. After a second, she fell backwards, laying on the soil and grass. Why was that youkai so adamant on getting her. She'd only messed with the shrine girl...and meant to have killed that annoying girl...and tested the blood on that random boy, but they wouldn't find his body.

...Okay, she'd messed with a few people. Not enough to trigger a super youkai to get on her ass. She'd even screwed up with the witch friend of the shrine girl because of that demon girl, and she doubted they would believe her if she spoke of her eyes. Why was everything going wrong. She shifted her tail tendril to in front of her face. That woman killing the shadow copy had transferred a deep cut along the side and a painful bruise on the base of it. It was going to hurt a while. It flopped down beside her as she lay still, before she sat up.

"Might as well try and read again." she fished out the report, flicking through back to where she was.

As she read, something approached behind her. She sensed it and turned suddenly, her tendril pointed , ready to stab. She won't be messed with again! Although seeing a tall blond woman was not what she was expecting.

"Hello there, this is the first I've seen of you around here. Have you become lost? This is quite far off the trail." the girl asked.

"Eh?!...N-No, I'm not lost. I just want some peace to read." Kageshō stated bluntly.

Hopefully she'll get the picture and leave.

"I see, but that...uhh, tail? You're tail, it's injured." she pointed to the wound.

"I'll be fine."

"Hmm, if you say so. My home is nearby, if you want, you could come and read there, out of the damp and I can treat the cut. It won't be much, but it's better then leaving it to feaster." she suggested.

Kageshō lowered her tail. She wasn't trying to annoy her. She could hide her for a bit, fix her wound, and finally read this stupid thing in peace. Hopefully.

"Okay, fine…"

"Excellent, now, my name is Alice, what's yours?"

"...Kageshō."

* * *

AN: Hello from a borrowed computer.

I've had two days off and no sleep so lets spend seven hours writing this instead of trying to sleep because I have college stuff during day hours and EON in my free time.

So, story is coming along, I spent an hour and a half on a walk break thinking through some stuff of the story and I finally gave a full description of Kageshō which I hadn't done...because I forgot to have Seija give one. Oops.

So, Pm, review, go watch/listen to a random LPer play XCOM 2 like I have when studying. I don't even like XCOM, I just like the anguished noises he makes or describes when RNG craps out.

Anyway, enjoy.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Poison

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

Remilia lead the group to the dining hall, because the group was now six strong, and the previous room was filled with dead dummies. After everyone was seated, Sakuya left to make tea. Remilia smiled at Reisen.

"So, before we talk about Patchy's findings, why don't you tell Reimu about want you said to me?" Remilia had a sadistic smile on her face.

"Why meeee…" Reisen whined softly "Okay, umm, so sometime between a few hours ago to three days ago, someone stole some...blood, from a cooler in Eientei. It was marked...RS, for Remilia Scarlet I presume. So, if you got turned into a vampire, uhhh."

"Last night." Reimu said, knowing exactly where this was going.

"Last night, and the two vampires in Gensokyo didn't do it. I, we, guess that, someone used the 50 or so year old blood on you?" Reisen's voice increased an octave as she held her hands near her chin, sweating bullets.

At first, Reimu felt a sliver of anger, before it seemed to fade, leaving a numb feeling through her body. It was, unpleasant. About as unpleasant as learning that someone stole blood and turned you into a monster. Yeah, around that level. It was very unpleasant...yes.

"I...see. Hey, have you felt so angry that you zoom straight past rage and end up feeling numb and hollow?" Reimu asked, a disconcerting calm about her.

"Yeah, I had that once. You come down after a minute into explosive rage that peters out over the course of other minute."

"Hmm, got it…"

"O-kay, moving on before she comes down Patchy! What did you find?" Remilia turned to her friend as Sakuya came out with tea.

"I will go finish the jobs you set earlier Lady Remilia." Sakuya announced with a bow.

"Uh huh, got it." she gave a thumbs up.

"Well, I found something that maybe our visiting rabbit may be able to help with." Patchouli held up the report.

"Oh, that looks like master's hand writing." Reisen took the papers "Mmm, weird..." she skimmed the pages, not reading them, before stopping on the back page "Hey, where's the rest?"

"What do you mean?"

"Master always has a conclusion and afterword at the end of these things. This this one just stops. Like, she's writing about how it doesn't affect onis and gods and then it's like she stopped writing. Maybe this is the copy she went to look for as I left. She may have never finished copying it over." Reisen reasoned, placing the papers down.

"Did she finish her stuff?" Flandre chimed in.

"(sigh) I don't know. She most likely wasn't finished so maybe this is as far as she got in general, or she never finished transcribing. Unfortunately the archived report was taken at some point too."

"Wait, but did it have a cure in it?" Reimu asked, seemingly come out the other side of her state after hearing the conversation.

"Ahh...maybe." Patchouli inhaled "There is **one** treatment for what is effectively vampire poisoning on youkai that doesn't liquify vampires...theoretically."

Oh that sharp inhale and staggered theoretically instills the greatests confidants.

"I wouldn't risk it, we should talk to Eirin about this." Remilia leaned back "The creator of this unholy mess should help fix this."

"Also, the person who stole the blood has a version of this, with it talking about how you can use the blood as poison to youkai?" Patchouli realised.

"Ohh, that's not a good thing..." Reisen swallowed.

As the group continued on, Reimu grabbed the tea cup and down it in one go, it having cooled. She recognised the taste...coppery...a bit meety, a-oh gods not again! She looked down at the cup to see the remnants of a red viscous tea. This stupid blood tea! She didn't want blood. But as Remilia said 'your a vampire, it's our thing'. Uhh, it's gross. Where do they even get the blood from? 'Hey human! Give us blood and we'll give ya yen!' I mean, it'd be good money. Bit weird though all things considered the hell is this tangent?

Reimu shook her head as she reentered the conversation.

"...and then I impaled her." Remilia finished.

Well, need a bit of context for that one.

"Okay, so let's get all the information laid out." Reimu interrupted the impalement story, everyone looking over "So I can think things through in my head because I really need to do that." she inhaled "Ahem, between three days ago to last night, someone stole old vampire blood from Eientei, then used it on me when I was asleep to make into a vampire for...reasons. Then I came here, and you got Patchouli to look for stuff and she found that paper that might be able to get rid of this." Reimu said, looking around.

"I also sent Sakuya with an injured Marsia to Eientei, which prompted Eirin to look for her research of vampirism which in turn led to them discovering the missing blood." Remilia added.

"Uhh, there was also the fact that someone was stealing blood...when we were checking…we weren't sure if they had taken the blood before or just there but seen it was last night I'm guessing they came back…" Reisen whispered, eyes all turning to her.

"So...someone was taking more stuff...a few hours ago?" Reimu asked, eye twitching.

"Umm, yes?"

Reimu's response was to stand up, and just walk out of the room. Silence reigned for a few seconds.

"Well, that's someth-" a fist came through the wall, a loud crack resonating around the room "-ing you should have said earlier." Remilia winced at the punch.

More work of Sakuya.

"Well, ehh, with everything that's happening, it slipped my mind." she apologised "And with the poisoning thing, this may be really, really bad..."

"Yeah, it's gone from someone making vampires for an unknown reason to possibly poisoning the youkai population of Gensokyo."

"Oh fantastic..." Patchouli pinch the bridge of her nose.

Flandre looked over at a clock.

 _It's only three, but so much cool stuff has happened. New sister, a mystery,, this is the best day ever!_ Flandre cheered internally, the gravity of the situation zoom past her.

* * *

 **Cave near Bamboo forest**

Ran walked into the cave the youkai was last in and quickly began examining everything she could. There was a dissipating mass of shadowy magic melting away on the ground, a large patch of blood with smaller drops and puddles in places. Nothing else though. She folded her arms.

"Urrh, there isn't anything to track her with…" she complained, Kagerou walking over to the mass, Seija dragged along.

"Well, there's this." she pointed at the fading construct.

"That's want killed me and then tried to rekill me." Seija commented.

"Do you anything else to add?" Ran turned to her.

"I told the gap b**th everything I knew and she saw stuff too, you should know this crap."

"Listen here. You know what Yukari is like, she told me a description, that she in this cave, and said track. So no, I don't know much, so tell me details." Ran ordered, in Seija face.

"Raugh, fine. She walked in, satchel over shoulder. She started reading, I surprised her, I messed with her, he murdered me! I fainted, then woke up with your gap master in front of me, I begged to be killed instead of dealing with her, that came out of the wall via shadow portal. Got killed, she tried going through portal it was using, shot away, interrogated me, left, got chased, wolf caught me. The end." Seija spat, frowning.

"Mmm, okay. So this came from a portal, even Yukari's gaps leave the barest of traces for a short time after use. Even if she attempted to hide or limit them, a trace will remain for some time. We just need to find it…" Ran used her hand to prop up her chin, thinking.

"What wall was it on?" Kagerou elbowed Seija.

"Uhh! That one!" she pointed at a wall.

Ran wandered over, her eyes darting along it. She grabbed the fading tendril, tearing off a piece that began to degrade into mist. The mist was wrapped in a faint ball of energy. She tapped it twice before holding it in her left hand. She punched it, crushing it before turning to the wall and striking it full force. A flash spread through the wall for a split second, exposing a thin slice of darkness that the light didn't illuminate. She grabbed the location, before prying it open, a portal that crackled with unstable magic appearing. It was small.

"UHHH, someone go in it, quickly! Find where it go!" she ordered.

"Why can't you?" Seija shrugged.

"Because she's too big, it'd be a tight squeeze for me too. But you should fit nicely." she grinned grabbing her.

"No, nonono, stop it!" she yelled, struggling.

"Stay where you go and maybe I won't turn you it." she joke throwing Seija it.

"Agh-!" she portal snapped shut.

"We can follow the trail now, come, before it disappears." Ran sprinted out, Kagerou running after her, before she was grabbed and Ran jumped, flying along a near invisible path of mist she could barely see.

* * *

A shadowy hole opened in a darkened room, Seija flying out at speed, face first into something hard. The thing gave way as she rolled onto the wood floor.

"Ugh, my head…" she groaned sitting up.

She was in a building...somewhere...great. She stood and cracked her neck.

"Well, she said if I hang around where I exit she might let me off the hook...or I could just run for it. What's she gonna do, yell at me?" she scoffed.

That's when she noticed the guy next to her. Rinnosuke stumbled back.

"Ah! Why where in my storage closet?!" he yelled, confused.

"Because I was used as a test dummy to see where some stupid shadow hole went!" Seija shot back.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"The gap b**th's pet fox is trying to track some youkai that stole stuff and she used some portal thing to escape and it lead here."

"Oh, that explains the voices from earlier…" Rinnosuke rubbed his head.

"You heard voices in there? Did you check?"

"No, I though one or two of the ghost people who float around somethings were in there okay!" he face reddened.

Seija's face twisted into a smile.

"Ha, is the little human scared of a ghost?" she teased.

"Rrrr, fine yes okay!"

"HA! Well, I've gotta go, tell the fox and wolf that Seija said piss off!" she began leaving.

"Uhh, are you sure you should be walking around like that?" he pointed to her shirt.

She looked down "Oops, forgot. Hey, you have any shirts, preferable free and/or easy to steal?"

"Ehhh, no…"

"Then I'm gone!" she turned to walk out but Rinnosuke stood.

"No, really, that's a bit indecent."

"Really?" she smiled using her finger to move the hole down and over, Rinnosuke covering his eyes.

"S-Stop that!"

"Hahah! Get it now? I don't care, the only reason I want a new one is so I don't get cold. Well, I'm gone then!" she walked out the door...before Ran walked in holding her "You are, surprisingly fast…"

"This wasn't where I was expecting it to go…"

"Oooo, weird outside stuff." Kagerou stuck her head in.

"Oh today is just full of firsts…" Rinnosuke deadpanned.

* * *

 **Forest of magic**

Kageshō followed Alice through the forest, the youkai soon realising she had jumped a lot deeper into the wooded area then she thought she had. She could have still shadow-stepped out of there, easily...but being brought somewhere near a path was reassuring. Easier to run away if everything goes, wrong. But that won't happen...unless she wants it to. Too early to say. As she ran through all this in her head, she bumped into Alice, who had stopped.

"Oh, sorry about that. We've arrived." Alice gestured with a smile, showing off her home.

A small normal looking house, with a western flare to the roof sat among the trees. It was quite nice all things considered.

"Nice place, ha…" Kageshō said with a nervous laugh.

She was still a bit on edge.

"Well, shall we?" Alice grabbed her hand and led her in, Kageshō locking up for a moment before relaxing.

 _Calm down, she's being nice, don't do something stupid or harmful like with that cave girl_ Kageshō whispered internally.

Alice wasn't a threat yet, and wasn't trying to take her stuff. The inside of the house was simple, a table by the door with a blond doll acting as a key rack. Okay…

They walked into the sitting room and were met by four more dolls, sitting on a couch. They all suddenly turned their heads towards them and hopped into the air, floating over.

"Ohh." "Ama?" Shan." "Hai!" they all chattered as though alive.

Kageshō stepped by, creeped out by them, before noticing the hint of a grin of Alice's face, and the faint jitter of her hand.

With a more obvious grin, she whipped her tail around Alice's back and used the spike at the end to slash the air below her hand. The dolls all stopped their movements and fell to the floor, Alice huffing.

"Huh, rude. It was a joke." she complained with fake annoyance "Okay though, I get it. I'll go get some tea and a bandage. Make yourself at home." Alice flicked her wrist, more visible wire appearing around her fingers as the dolls all floated behind her as she walked away.

Kageshō sighed and wandered over to the couch, sitting down as she pulled out the research paper, flipping back to the point she had stopped at...again. This part was more interesting. After escaping the endless stuff about humans and the blood, it got to the part about how vampire blood was poison to youkais.

"Crap…how toxic?" she muttered.

Was it 'Ow, I feel bad but I'll be fine' or 'Oh gods help me! I'm dying!' Next it was ways of curing the poisoning. Boring. She looked up as movement caught her eye. A doll placed down a teacup as Alice sat down across from her. A doll in a nurse's outfit sat beside her, a bottle and bandage in hand.

"Bop!" it held them up, the doll looking excited.

"Look, she's excited to be treating her first patient." Alice commented hiding her smile.

"You are controlling these, right?" Kageshō asked nervously.

"Uhum. I like to have a little fun with them though, you know? It makes things more lively." she explained.

The doll jumped up and pulled down her tail, popping the top off the bottle and pouring it onto a cloth. It flew around it, rubbing it into the cut. Kageshō almost jumped as her tail wriggled, the pain making her tendril move instinctively. The poor doll grabbed on as it was flung around, refusing to give up. It released the tail and changed at it, pinning it as it wrapped the bandage around the length of the wound. Kageshō just looked at the display with stunned look. After a few more seconds the doll hopped off, landing on her lap.

"Win!" it cried, arms waving in the air.

Kageshō gave an expression with arms held at shoulder level that could only be described as…'why'. Alice replied with a grin. Well, it didn't matter, time to read. She opened the report as the doll walked off her lay, sitting on the couch. She grabbed her tea and drank it in one, the burning sensation lasting a few seconds. Nice taste.

Alice sat back, looking over the youkai. That thing she was reading looked important. What was it? Something was written on the front, but she held it in a way to cover that. She was hiding it. It was either something for her eyes only, or something she wasn't meant to have. The fact it looked like a medical report of some sort made her think the latter. Did this girl stolen from Eientei? That was impressive if true. She held the satchel at her side close too. Curiouser and curiouser...she should attempt to see. With her hand behind the couch, and directed a doll by the table to waddle off. After a minute, it came back it a silver platter. It sidestepped under Kageshō and held up the platter. Alice glanced at it, reading 'Hemomorphic arcanteria' off the front, with Eirin written beneath it. Hmm, that's an odd name. Is it a disease? The doll retreated quickly, returning the platter. Time for a question or two.

"Kageshō, if it's not too much to ask, what are you reading?" Alice asked sitting forward.

"Nothing important to you."

Okay...evasive. That's a sign of something being off.

"Really? Can I see what's on the front at least?"

Kageshō frowned and looked up at the puppeteer.

"If you answer a question."

"Okay."

"Are you human, or youkai?"

"Oh, well, I was human, now I guess I'm a youkai...I think. It's a bit of a grey area really."

"How is it a grey area?" Kageshō asked, a confused look on her face.

"Because I'm not a witch, but a magician. I don't need to eat, or sleep but I like to. I think I need to do more to finish it off, but I haven't spoken to Patchouli in some time to learn more, so I never finished it. I don't truly care though, I'm fine as I am." Alice stated "So…"

Kageshō held up the report, exposing it to her. Alice nodded after looking over it. Yep, that looks like something from Eientei. Well, time for a plan to get it off her. Alice stood up.

"I will go make more tea, it won't be a minute." she walked away, Kageshō getting an off putting smile as she left.

 _If it's poison to youkai, and makes humans vampires...what does it make a weird youkai/human mage thing. Heh he he, now I'm interested._

She rose to her feet and sneaked over to the door, spotting Alice by a stove, a doll messing with a kettle. As slowly approached her, the girl distracted by something she was writing. She drew out a syringe of blood. The doll turned and Kageshō stabbed the thing with her tail before it moved, pinning it to the stove. Alice turned suddenly as Kageshō jabbed her in the neck with the needle, injecting a third of it before she was pushed back, the needle coming out. Alice pulled her arms together as dolls flew in, at least twenty near her and a few surrounding Kageshō.

"What did you just do!?" Alice yelled, a pain in her neck worsening as time passed.

"Just a little experiment, gotta know everything before I continue my plan in full swing." she replied as she ran.

A set of four dolls grabbed her legs, tripping her. Kageshō swatted the other incoming dolls with her tail as she shot off the leg grabbers with black magic bolts, the dolls blowing apart. Alice directed more to grab her before she stumbled, her vision blurring. She rubbed her neck, checking her hand. A black liquid was smeared on her hand.

"What the-?!" she grabbed the silver platter and used it as a mirror.

The injection site was a dark purple with her veins popping out of her skin, light blue. It was darkening slowly.

"What was in that?! T-Tell me?!" she swallowed, a dizziness growing in her head.

She felt like her blood was on fire!

Kageshō laughed.

"Woah, guess you're counting as youkai. Huh, at least I know it works fast. Well see you Alice." Kageshō giggled running away.

Alice attempted to use her dolls to support her, but a numbness in her fingers was robbing her of that ability. The dolls began faltering, Alice falling over. A coughing fit took her, ending after a few seconds with the vomiting of a dark ichor. She needed help, NOW! She clawed her way to her feet and sprinted out of the house, stumbling, holding the injection point. Help from where though...Marisa? No, she might not be there. Reimu's shrine was nearby too. If she wasn't there, at least one of her fairy housemates may be. It was better than the Marisa chance. Alice gulped down air, the pain flaring. She just needed to keep moving, and hope someone was there...anyone.

* * *

 **Hakurei shrine**

Clownpiece walked out of the shrine, hat off and hair messy. She proceeded to collapse onto the ground.

"I hate cleaning!" she rolled onto her front "It was smelly in there too…" she complained.

"Well, at least it's clean now. So we don't need to do anymore." Luna sat down beside her.

"Yeah, so that gap lady won't yell at us. Now we can do...something." Sunny rubbed her hair, freezing as she realised the cleaning liquid was still on it "Oh nonononono!" she ran over to the well and winched up a bucket of water, dumping it over her head "Baugh...is that stuff bad for hair?"

Star looked over the bottle. The word Bleach was stamped on it in English.

"Uhh, it's in English, and only has this word on the front." she turned it around, looking for more.

Clownpiece swiped the bottle.

"Umm B-l...no that's i, no wait, it's l, hmm...e?...uhh, is that u?" she struggled to read the letters.

"Come on Clownpiece, can't you read it?" Luna stood, determined.

"Stop it, I'm bad at the English symbols! Umm c-h...Bleuch…?" she guessed.

Close Clownpiece...so close…well, the a was an odd stylised font so...

"You washed it out, so whatever bleuch is should be fine now." Star nodded.

"Hopefully…"

As the four all relaxed, they heard something hit stone, a groan reaching them. Star flew over to the entrance, gasping.

"Hey guys, come here, quickly!" she called, the three fairies flying over.

What they found was a collapsed Alice, a black patch of skin of her neck with visible veins. It snaked down her arm, turning it purple. She looked up at them. It had spread to her face too, a red/purple in her scapula.

"H...Help…" she whispered before collapsing back down.

"Agh! What's wrong with her!?" Luna screamed, scared.

"Something's really wrong! Uhhh, what do we do?!" Star yelled, panicking.

"She needs that doctor place." Clownpiece reasoned.

"Does anyone know where that is?" Sunny asked.

The four looked at each other.

"Someone in the human place'll know, right?" Star suggested.

"Come on then, we have to carry her, fast!" Clownpiece grabbed her arm, throwing it over her shoulder.

Sunny grabbed the other and Luna her legs. The three flew into the air, wobbling as Star flew underneath, holding her waist. The four sped off, the flight unsteady due to Alice's weight.

* * *

AN: Things are heating up.

So, for quite a while I though Alice was human, but before I finished this chapter, I had to look it up just to make sure and it says she's a youkai, formally human.  
I had to rewrite the end part...

Adding on to that, looking into magician's in Touhou confuses me because I've found conflicting stuff about them from different places and with what I though as well...it's a mess, so let's just move on.  
And if you're wondering, yes, I'm making Seija be uncomfortable to be around, because she's an asshole.

I don't know why, but I find this so easy to write. This was written today and yesterday in breaks and stuff. Next chapter will have some good things I think.

Pm, review, hope you like this.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Treatment

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

Reimu stomped away from the dining hall, scowling. She was pissed, she was annoyed, she was several other synonyms of angry. She was just...done with this. She wandered up to a random room and walked into it, the space empty of all but three soft chairs and a table. She sat down, and sighed.

This day, was just awful. She just wanted it to end, fall asleep and wake up in her shrine with an unbearable hangover and the smell of just...anything foul. She'd take anything to escape this nightmare. No matter what Keine said, a nugget of fear whirled around at the back of her skull. She was scared, she was angry, she was...worried. Who did this? What were they doing now?...Where did Yukari go? That's a good question that no one could probably answer.

As she sat there, a feeling of exhaustion grabbed her. The endless emotional torment was getting to her, capped off by the fact she didn't sleep that well last night. Her eyes closed as she fell asleep, the world fading.

Reimu opened her eyes to see a world of swirling crimson. Well, that's not normal. She stood and looked around, stretching, accidentally hitting her wings. Yep, looks like this is real...ish.

"Boo." a female voice whispered.

Reimu jumped into the air, her wings instinctively flapping and bringing her higher.

"Wha-?! Wait, how do wings work?!" she shouted as she sailed to the left before slowing her wings by accident, resulting in her crashing into the floor.

"(Giggle) Wow, a bigger reaction then I thought." the girl said, smiling.

Reimu stomped over to her.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" she yelled, before noticing something.

The girl bore a striking resemblance to her, except for height, standing a foot taller than her, and had longer hair.

And was naked.

She narrated with a chuckle, Reimu going red.

"P-Put something on!" she looked away, the girl sighing.

"Got it." with a surge, the floor enveloped her in red liquid, before falling away, the girl in a shrine maiden outfit.

"Ragh, good, also, what was with that weird statement, with the naked part." Reimu raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" she replied with a grin.

Reimu's eye twitched, who does she think she is? Why does she look like her and-

"I said stop narrating!" Reimu yelled.

The girl sighed.

"But I'm just sayin' what you're thinking." she commented.

"Well don't." she huffed "But seriously, who are you and where am I?"

"O-kay, time for some explanation, to an extent. I'm, well, part of you." she smiled, exposing her fangs.

"So your my vampire half or something?"

"Well yeah...ish. It's a bit complicated, especially because he told me not to talk about it much." she whispered, Reimu getting into her face hearing that.

"Who's 'he'?"

"Can't talk about that, I'll get my metaphorical head torn off."

"Uhhh! Why is this so complicated! Do Remilia and Flandre have something like you?" Reimu asked, folding her arms.

"Nah, not that I/you know of. You're a bit of a special one." she commented.

"So if you're my vampireness, then if I get rid of you, I'll be human?"

"Ehh…" the girl gave a frown and wiggled her hand, clearly unsure. "That or you're body would rip itself apart. Not a good idea in any way."

Reimu's only response was back up and sit down.

 _Damn it, this is weird, how am I supposed to figure this out._

"There, happy?" vamp Reimu (amazing name brain!) remarked smirking.

"What do you mean…?" Reimu looked up at her.

"No narration?"

"Wha-?! So you can read my mind?!"

"No! I'm in your head...we're in your head. This is your head." she gestured to the column.

"Ugghhh!"

"(Sigh) Reimu, hey look. Let me give you a piece of advise. It doesn't matter what your power is, you can follow the path you want in life. You just gotta adapt. There is no wrong choices, just life changing ones. The paths have different endings, but joint ones too, don't go full despair on yourself." vamp Reimu smiled crouching down.

"Nhh…!" Reimu held her head "Ow...that, I've heard something like that before. Uh, my head." she squeezed her ears, a headache flaring.

"Calm down. Your life got messed up pretty bad by whatever made me, but remember, there might be a cure and if not, well, who said ya can't keep going at your job. You never exorcised, purged or destroyed youkai, gods and stuff. You rarely sealed things and you managed to do a simple one by imitating your old powers. Practice, train, and beat up the annoyances. Nothing's changed. You just need to tell everyone 'Hey, vampire now, still old lazy shrine maiden, just a little short tempered now!'" her vampiric self explained "Sorry about the anger flares by the way."

"What do you mean?" Reimu stood and stared, teeth bearing.

"That anger from your blood as you described it, that's a bit of me leakin' out. And before you ask, I think the oldness of the blood messed with your stuff, making me a bit short tempered, which kind of makes you angry faster. And it probably messed with me and you in other ways and it's a, well, let's just say it's a bit of a mess because of all this."

"Ragh! This is so, bi-tif-ugh!" Reimu rubbed her hair in frustration. "No, no, you know what, let me ask you a question. And please answer it." silence "Why are you a thing?...Please."

"Well, something made me to contain your Hakurei energy, magic and powers, to make sure it didn't kill you. The holiness wished to purge the taint in your blood, but it would have killed you if it tried. So it was locked up, with me watching it. That's why you couldn't use it, or your new stuff unless pissed off. Well, it's gone now, but I'm still around."

"So, I've lost my old power…"

"Yeah, well, I can't talk anymore, it's time to wake up." vamp Reimu stated spotting something manifesting behind Reimu "Too much I guess. Well, see ya later."

"How do I-" she was punched full force in the face.

* * *

Reimu jolted awake in the chair, yelping in pain, holding her cheek.

"Screw you!...me...vampire thing!" she hissed, pissed off by the phantom pain.

* * *

 **The approach to the village**

The four fairies flew through the air, wobbling as they struggled with Alice's weight. The human village came into sight.

"C-Come on, nearly there!" Clownpiece whispered through grit teeth.

"I can't hold on anymore!" Luna whined as Alice's legs slipped out of her hands.

"Wah! Luna grab her!" Star begged as she started to sink.

"Sorry!"

Soon they reached the outskirts of the village and started falling faster, ending with the four crashing onto the ground by the entrance with Alice landing on them.

"Gack!? Heavy…" Sunny moaned as she pulled herself out from under her.

Then they all looked around to see the humans all staring at them, confused by why four fairies carrying someone just crash landed by the entrance. Clownpiece was the first to react.

"Hey, does anyone know how to get to the doctor place? She needs help or something!" She cried out, the humans all looking around.

A woman shrieked as she spotted Alice's neck, several others grimacing and stepping away.

"Hey, so does anyone know?! This is important!" Clownpiece yelled, annoyed.

"They need the guide." "Should we get her?" "Look at that, I don't want that spreading around here!" muttering filled the air.

"Come on please!" Star joined in, looking around at the hesitating people.

"Yo, someone want to go to Eientei?" someone said using Clownpiece's head as a arm rest.

"Yes! Can someone help instead of just looking!" Sunny complained waving her arms rapidly.

"Hmm, okay let's see-oh gods what is that?" the white haired woman got off Clownpiece and walked over to Alice.

"Do you know how to get there?" Luna asked.

Mokou turned to the four.

"Yeah, I was waiting around to talk to Keine about something important, but she's ran off somewhere, plus this seems a bit important too. What happened to her?" she kneeled down grabbing her hair and lifting Alice's head.

"K...Kag...e...Ka...g...e." Alice muttered, barely conscious.

"Kage? That a name or…?" Mokou asked as she coughed up a dark liquid "Okay, no condition to talk then, so what happened?" she looked at the fairies.

"We don't know, she just showed up at the shrine like that." Sunny stated.

"Hmm, well, she needs help, that's for sure. Never seen something like this...that I can remember." Mokou picked her up "So, a few things. One, some of you stay and tell Keine when she comes back that I want to talk to her, some stuff came up but I'll be back. And two, one of you come with me. I want someone who has a chance of explaining be there so Eirin doesn't bombard me with questions I can't answer. Nmmm...you." she pointed to Clownpiece.

"But I don't know what happened!" she complained as Mokou picked her up "Wait! Put me down!"

"Nope. Time is kind of important from the look of it, so let's go." she leapt into the air, a blast of flames rocketing her forward, the three speeding off towards the bamboo forest.

"Ehhh...well then." Sunny just shrugged, dumbfounded "Do we just...hang around or something?" she asked.

"I-I guess. Keine is the teacher lady right?" Star sighed, Sunny nodding.

"What if the gap lady comes to the shrine and we're not there. Didn't she what us to look after it?" Luna wondered.

"We, just gotta tell her about the girl, she'd understand right?"

"Maybe…"

* * *

 **Eientei**

Eirin steps out of the patient room, patting down her outfit. Aya had woken up again and tried to leave, again, as she tried to set Marisa's nose, which in of itself was a nightmare. She had to make sure she didn't collapse the nostril, hold the bone in place. She could stand to be a bit better at bones, but no one ever broken anything in Gensokyo. It doesn't matter, it's done.

"Now to finally go to the mansion. Hopefully Reisen is still there. Heh, maybe she found the report...who knows. As long as Marisa doesn't wake up or Aya crawl out of bed. I could lock the door, or get Kaguya to look over them. Hmm, I'll lock the door and ask Kaguya to make sure they don't break out. Yes, that will do…" Eirin reasoned as she stood in the doorway.

"Uhhhgghh...ma head…" she heard someone moan.

Turning around, she looked at Marisa sit up, holding her head.

"It feelz lik I got punhed in the noze." she complained, her words warped by her blocked, bandaged nose.

She tapped it, wincing.

"Mabe I did…" she looked around "Oh Eirin, how ya doin'." she smirked.

"Fine, does your nose hurt?"

"Hmm, a tiny bit, iz making ma words funny though."

"Really, you always were bad at proper speech, now you just can't help it." Eirin fired back, Marisa frowning.

"Zmart azz." she joked.

"Well, if it's bearable, could you make sure Aya doesn't attempt to leave. She needs rest and I need to leave for a spell.

"Wat? I'm your babyziter now. Zhe'z no' five."

"True, but she is sick and delusional. How about I make it so you don't need to pay for todays treatment." Marisa smiled "Only the two outstanding treatments" the smile faded.

"Ack, fine, I'll mine her."

"Thank you. If your nose starts to become unbearable, take one of these." she tapped a bottle on her bedside table "And guide Aya back to her bed if she gets up." Marisa nodded as Eirin turned and left.

"Nhh, ma punizhmen' for getting caught I guezz. I juzt got to be a bit more carful next tim'." she shook her head, annoyed.

Eirin exited Eientei and sighed. Okay, she needs to go to the village, get to the lake it should be visible from there. Yes, that how to get there. It's been a while seen she went there. Wait…

 _I should tell Marisa about the blood, in case the person tries taking it again. Hmm, just 'keep an eye out for anything off' yes, that'd be enough._ Eirin thought on the doorstep, before something landing in front of her drew her attention.

It was Mokou, holding two people. A fairy and...oh gods! Eirin rushed over to Alice, spotting the black skin and spreading dark.

"Mokou, what is this?!" she asked, concerned, grabbing Alice and laying her down.

"No clue, this fairy plus friends showed up in the village with her." she placed Clownpiece down.

"What happened?!"

"W-We don't know. She showed up at the shrine like this asking for help. We didn't know what to do so we carried her to the human place. It's gotten worse since she showed up though. It's gone down her arm and her face and-" Clownpiece explained, nervous.

"Okay, that's enough. Both of you come with me. Reisen isn't here and I may need help." Eirin picked up Alice and rushed inside, the fairy and immortal chasing after.

Eirin burst into her surgery and placed Alice down. She grabbed a syringe and began drawing blood.

"One of you get me a basic toxicology slip! Lower shelf to the right! The other grab a blood pack marked 'Y' from the cooler!" she ordered, rushing over to a cabinet of bottles.

Clownpiece bent down and rummaged on the shelf, grabbing the paper like sheets while Mokou grabbed the blood.

 _We don't know what this is, be it disease or poison. If it's spreading this fast, I doubt disease unless it's magic based. Most likely poison, but from what? I need more information._ she examined the syringe in her hand.

The blood was far darker red than normal, with a wispy black swirling in it. Poison, most certainly. The blood was slowly disappearing, replaced by the wispy black.

"Here, is this it?" Clownpiece help up the paper.

She had grabbed all of it instead of one or two slips. It didn't matter. She dumped the bottle and slips down, grabbing one and dropping a speck of blood onto it. It changed to a blue colour first before fading to a yellow, then green, then yellow.

 _Her blood is very basic? And yellow. Yellow is for microbes, but green is toxic substances. This isn't normal, it's meant to a shade of red or blue for pH and a single colour for a basis on where to start, how is it changing?!_ she shook her head, grabbing the bottle.

A stimulant, it's dangerous to rouse someone in this state, only if absolutely necessary. But the changing slip is enough of a red flag. Mokou hands her a bag.

"Blood delivery." she looked serious, good, no fooling around.

Grabbing a needle, Eirin jabbed it into Alice, hooking up the blood pack to replace the destroyed blood. She drew out some of the stimulant, injecting it into her wrist. After a few seconds, the unconscious Alice opened her eyes barely, exposing her darkened scapula.

"Uhh...it...hurts...h...hel...p…" she pleaded, fighting to stay awake.

"What happened? What caused this?" Eirin asked, holding the girl.

"K...Kage...shō...yo...uk...ai. Syringe...r...red…" she whispered before coughing up a black ichor.

"Syringe?...Red...no...no, damn it!" Eirin looked like she was about to rip someone's head off.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Mokou questioned, confused by what Alice said.

"I know what this is. It's vampiric poisoning. Someone from what she said injected vampire blood into her. It's poisonous to youkai!" she ran over and grabbed another bottle "Mokou, go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, they should have a report about this. There are cures for it in there. I don't remember them fully, I'll slow this down, attempt to cure it, but I need that report. Go, quickly!" she ordered, tapping her temple as she racked her brain for the ingredients of one of the cures.

"Hang on, if vampire blood caused this then wouldn't it have been those two at the mansion?"

"No, and we don't have time to explain and argue, Mokou please!" Eirin injected something into Alice, glancing at the lost Clownpiece "I need you to get me-" she began listing off a bunch of chemicals, each having a longer or weirder name then the last "and a herb called sage's rest, they're in the back room, did you get that?"

Clownpiece's head was swimming, she stared with a panicked expression.

"I didn't get any of that!" she yelled, confused.

Eirin clenched her fist, before relaxing. She was asking a fairy to gather ingredients and chemicals, that was a terrible idea. She probably thought some of the ingredients where chemicals and mixed it all together. Calm down, panic won't help.

"Okay, look after her for a minute, get me if she appears to worsen while I get them, okay?"

Clownpiece nodded. The fairy turned back to Alice, who looked like she was about to slip back in unconsciousness.

"Uhh, this looks really bad…"

"Uh?! A-Alice?" Clownpiece turned at the sound of the voice, seeing a paling Marisa frozen, having opened the patient rooms door to see what all the scrambling was about "The hell happened?"

* * *

 **Kourindou**

Ran dropped Seija and Kagerou grabbed her shoulder, holding her close.

"Nearly broke your promise…" she teased, Seija scowling.

Ran walked up to Rinnosuke.

"Hello, nice to see you again."

"Uh huh, yeah, it's usually Yukari that sticks her head in to poke around and annoy me. She asleep." Rinnosuke asked as he sat down.

"Probably, but I'm not here for your patients, I need to investigate…" she looked at Seija.

"Closet."

"Your storage room, and ask you for any information relevant to my investigation." Ran explained.

"He thought it was ghosts or spirits in the room and was too scared to check on the voices he heard." Seija taunted.

She received a bop to the head from Kagerou.

"Hey!" Rinnosuke blushed, embarrassed.

"Did you recognise the voices?" Ran questioned as she rounded his counter and opened the door, finding a crack in the door and a crackling remnant of the portal Seija had been flung through.

It collapsed as she walked in, not that it mattered, that portal was finished.

"Hmmm…" Rinnosuke closed his eyes as he thought, attempting to remember the voices.

"I think one sounded like her." he pointed to Seija "that was the most mumbled one. The clearest one I didn't know and the third…"

"If it had me it was probably when Miss gap b**th was trying to drag the youkai through the portal thing." Seija commented.

"You know Yukari would kill you if she heard you call her that." Kagerou warned.

"She's heard me say it, it's fine." a spanner thrown by Ran which struck her in the head, missing a horn barely "OW?!" she grabbed the impact point.

"Maybe it was Yukari, it sounded angry. I've never heard her get angry, I thought she was immune to emotions like that." Rinnosuke shrugged.

"She gets more...passive aggressive then angry." Ran rubbed some goo off the wall.

"What is this about anyway?"

"A youkai, Kageshō, stole something and Yukari wants me to find her. Looks like she jumped to here, then jumped again after she closed her shadowy gap. But there's more of a trace this time." she held the goo in a ball of light."

"What was stolen?"

"Some vampire making blood." Kagerou said offhandedly.

"What?...Wait, then Reimu…"

"Huh? You say something?" Seija looked at the man, raising an eyebrow.

"Ehh, nothing, I shouldn't gossip. Especially about that."

"Now you have to tell me." Kagerou walked over, dragging Seija by the collar.

"Well, Reimu Hakurei showed up early this morning with an umbrella, because the sun burnt her...and she had fangs."

The two just stared at him and then glanced at each other, before Ran slowly stuck her head out the store room door.

"Well, f**k." Seija whispered "That's not something I was expecting. Little miss shrine girl isn't human anyone. That's gonna mess with the humans." Seija sniggered.

"Okay, I get why Yukari said this was important now. Well, bring the tester." Ran ordered as she went back in.

"What? Wait, do not throw me through another portal thing I refuse!- Put me down!" Seija was carried over the closet as Ran ripped open a new portal.

"Is that-" Kagerou chucked her in "safe to do?" Rinnosuke wondered, Kagerou hand waving.

"She'll be fine." she reassured as Ran grabbed her and sprinted out, hopping over the counter and out the door.

"Okay bye then I guess!" he called after.

Today was weird.

* * *

 **Yukari's home**

Chen sat on a cushion staring at a clock, slowly ticking back and forth. 57 minutes...Yukari wanted an hour nap, so the time was fast approaching. She'd been staring at the clock for 5 minutes as to get the time exactly right. Because last time she went 16 minutes over and she wasn't happy...at all. As much as she wanted to go run around outside, check the drying towels, play with the towels and sheets hanging up, mess with them...hug them…

She slapped her cheeks as she looked up at the clock. One hour, wake up time! She hopped to her feet and ran over to Yukari's room, opening the door, to find Yukari sitting in a chair by a table.

"Wha? I thought you were…" Chen spluttered.

Yukari looked at a small clock on the table "A minute late, better than 16. I can let that slide."

"Were you even asleep Lady Yukari!" Chen whined, pouting.

"I was, I woke up 5 minutes ago, and wished to see if you'd get me up on time. Now." she stood and walked over "Chen, I'm going to go check on a few things. I want you to stay here and if Ran comes back with any information, get it, remember it, and tell me if we don't meet. You can be my info cat." she chuckled.

"Uhh, what if that mean youkai shows up?"

"Ah, well, I doubt she'd be stupid enough to come near here, but if you should spot anyone remotely like her, you can chase them. But remain hidden." _Not that it will matter, she would never come near here._ Yukari thought as she smiled.

"Okay!" she cheered as Yukari opened and stepped into a gap.

After it closed, Chen looked around Yukari's room. It's normally locked, so she for once could look around. Not that there's much to poke at that Yukari wouldn't notice being poked at. She doesn't wanna annoy her...she subconsciously rubbed her backside, remember her last punishment. She tiptoed around, opening a drawer and closet. Than she picked up a sealed box, with a spell tag on the lock. Nope, even she knew that was dangerous. She as jumped up to the top shelf in Yukari's closet to look at the cardboard boxes, but froze as she heard something shifting around outside the room.

Was it Ran? She'd get in trouble if she knew she was rooting through Yukari's stuff. Was it Yukari? She wouldn't be able to sit for days if it was! Chen reached over and grabbed the door, pulling it closed. Just hide and when they leave she'll escape. If they want to know where she was...she was at the stream, perfect! Someone opened the door, peeking in. The closet door had slanted rivets in the door, letting her barely see out. She...didn't know the person. She had black hair.

"Heh, no one home? Good, I'll hide out here and if someone comes, I'll shadowstep away. The other room has a blind that make it nice and dark, gotta have the right light level." the girl said, closing the door.

Chen opened the closet and hopped down, not making a sound. She snuck over to the door and peeked out. The person disappeared into Ran's room.

Someone was in their house, hiding out. Well, Ran and Yukari would be angry if they came back to the person there. She'll open the door, scare them off and then tell Ran or Yukari. It was just some random girl. Maybe it was that girl from the wanted ad. She had black hair. Chen walked over to the door and reached for the handle.

* * *

AN: I got to finish my other story's chapter, it's half done...but I've been using Touhou misic and remixes as background music and it makes me wanna write this...

Anyway, moving off that, the first part with Reimu up there was written like, three times. I still have most of the first version because it had too much info in it, then the second didn't have enough so I just rewrote the whole thing. Next time, people will stop being in like seven groups and I won't need a list to remember who's where.

Okay, that's about it. Pm, review, tell me I messed something up and I need to fix. Hopefully not that last one...  
Anyway, enjoy.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Fury

 _Italics: character thoughts_

* * *

Chen slowly reached for the handle of the door. With a quick pull, she opened the door slightly. The girl was sitting on the floor, her head in a load of papers. She wasn't paying attention. She had really black hair with a weird tail thing covered in a bandage resting on the floor. Well, here we go!

With a sharp inhale, burst through the door.

"Hey, why are you in our house!?" she yelled, making the girl jump near through the roof of the room.

"The hell?!" she staggered to her feet and backed away, clearing struggling to piece together a response.

"Just because Lady Ran and Lady Yukari aren't here doesn't mean that no one's here! Why are you in our house?" Chen questioned, flailing her arms wildly.

"Y-Yuk-?! That name...I snuck into that b**th's house?! Of all the empty places, why her's?!" the girl forced out.

"Hey, what's your name? I gotta tell Lady Yukari it later."

"No, not if I can help it." the girl growled, crouching down.

Her tail stabbed into a suddenly formed black hole, before a much larger one appeared as a black tendril burst out of it. Chen instinctively dunked as she saw it move, the construct lunging at her, missing her by a hair. Her cap wasn't as lucky, stabbed by the spike and impaled onto the floor.

"WAH?! Stop! That could have hit me!" she cried dodging to the left as the tendril whipped around, slamming into the floor.

The wooden floor cracked from the force of the strike, before the shadow slid along the ground, tearing up wood and knocking Chen into the wall. It reared up, aiming at the winded cat. Chen shook her head just in time to jump to the side, the spike punching a hole in the wall. The girl was standing by the door, grinning, a dark magic aura wisping around her hand as her tail had snaked into a different portal when Chen was distracted. She couldn't get out that way now. She was in trouble. The mean girl was fighting for real. Ran always told her not to fight too seriously...but she was in danger. Light leaked in through the hole, a small circle on the construct releasing mist as the light cut into it. Maybe it didn't like light?

Chen inhaled as the tendril readied itself. Okay, plan time, make light, go cat mode and run, really fast. Perfect. Chen held up her hand, magic pooling in it. The girl was unfazed. She kept charging it more and more, and as the readied to stab, she threw it full force at the ground. It exploded in a flash of pure light, blinding her, and the girl, who let out a loud scream. Chen quickly changed, shrinking and morphing into her twin tailed nekomata form and ran to the hole in the wall. She leapt through it as the light faded, the girl noticing her absence. Chen didn't care where she was running, she just needed to run, fast-AHHH!

Chen let out a pained meow as she was blasted forward, her left hind leg suddenly experiencing a searing pain. She glanced back as she rolled to her feet, spotting the girls hand sticking out of the hole. She had shot her with something, payback for the blinding most likely. Chen ducked into a bush as she curled around to examine her leg. Her fur had burned off, and her skin was a red/black burn. The pain was terrible.

 _I have to keep going…_

She jumped to another bush before escaping into the tree line, dragging her burn leg. It hurt, so much...but that girl could still be after her, she needs to run…

* * *

 **Eientei**

"Alice!" Marisa yelled, rushing over.

"Marisa?" Clownpiece wasn't expecting her to be here.

"Clown, wat happened? Who did thiz?" she turned to the fairy, clearing not happy.

"Ehhh, I don't know, she showed up at the shrine like this. Well, it's worse than when she showed up at first, but, err, I don't know!" Clownpiece explained, glancing at Alice.

"It's vampiric poisoning." Eirin ran back into the room, carrying several items "She has been infected with vampire blood and it's destroying her blood and cells to replicate itself. I need to slow it down until Mokou gets back with the report in the Scarlet's."

Eirin dumped all the materials onto her desk and began working, glancing at the two after a second.

"Fairy, could you go find Kaguya and ask her to come here? Marisa, deal with Aya."

"Wat? Wat you mea' deal with Aya?" she turned to find Aya standing by the door.

"I am feeling better now, I going to go write about the pillar thief." she announced, wobbling on her feet.

"Haa, come her tengu. Bac' to bed." Marisa grabbed Aya and dragged her away, before looking back "Ya better help Alice Eirin…" she whispered.

"Who's Kaguya?" Clownpiece asked.

"The only non rabbit in the building currently here."

"Okay, no ears then." she walked out, Eirin sighing as she drew out a syringe of iodine and stabbed it into the misty mixture.

 _Mokou, you better hurry._

* * *

 **Outside Scarlet Devil Manor**

Mokou spotted the large mansion coming into view, spinning in the air before landing in the tree line nearby, sliding along the dirt, flames scorching it slightly. She sprinted up to the gate, Meiling standing up fully from her relaxed leaning on the gate as she reached her.

"No time, move." Meiling barely had time to register what Mokou said before she blocked a fiery roundhouse kick, the flames from the kick licking her exposed arm skin.

The force made her flinch and step back, but not enough to falter. She recovered within a second and returned a backhanded strike to Mokou, which didn't really make her move, just stare.

"I said no time, I need something quickly."

"Then explain instead of attempting to bat me away!" Meiling paced up to her, standing half a head over her.

"Some report on vampires, Eirin needs it now, or some girl's gonna die." Mokou spat before kicking the lock on the gate, the inbuilt mechanism bending and shattering from the strain.

The gate flew open, Mokou running in. Meiling was left stunned, rapidly swapping between the destroyed gate and Mokou.

"Wh-...Bu-...Thanks for f'ing the lock!" Meiling yelled after her.

Mokou elbowed the front door, the latch snapping from the shove. She wandered into the front of the mansion and looked around. Now then, where would the report be? Library? They've a library here right? That mage girl lives in it. Good enough start and that's a knife.

Mokou jerked her head as a silvery knife cut her cheek, a small trickle of blood leaking from it. Probably the maid...she must be-

Her thought was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a knife at her throat, Sakuya behind her.

"I heard metal break, then arrive to our front entrance breached. Care to explain?" she asked, knife near slicing her neck.

"Simple, Eirin needs some report on vampires you have, some cure is in it. We need it fast, no time for excessive talking." Mokou said, grabbing the knife, the blade slicing into her hand as she removed it.

"Well, a bit of explaining would go a long way to avoid all of these delays you're making for yourself." Sakuya retorted, pulling the knife free from Mokou's hand.

"Okay, yeah, I get it, but I need that report."

"Come with me." she grabbed Mokou.

Why did she just-? The next thing she knew, she was standing in front of a large door, the world spinning. She shook her head. Time stuff most likely. As she recovered, Sakuya opened the door, exposing the meeting between Remilia, Patchouli and Reisen. Flandre was staring into the middle distance. The immortal flicked her wrist, a single flame spawning before popping like a firecracker. That drew everyone's attention.

"Hey everyone, sorry to crash the party, but I need something."

"M-Mokou!? Why are you here?" Reisen asked, frowning.

"Simple. Is there a vampire report thing here?" Patchouli held up a bunch of stapled pages "Outstanding Eirin needs in now. Right now."

"What happened?" Remilia leaned back in her chair, curious.

"Some blond girl showed up with some nasty looking skin problem and well, she got poisoned by vampire blood or something. That has a cure." she pointed at the papers.

"Wha-?! I need to go then! Sorry!" Reisen jumped to her feet "Master might need help!"

"She'll be fine, it's Eirin. She also has a fairy helping."

"Okay, Reisen I think you should go then before someone dies." Patchouli commented.

Reisen nodded before grabbed the report and sprinting out.

"Message delivered, bye." a hand stopped her by grabbed her shoulder.

"Not yet, first we need to discuss the gate and door." Sakuya warned.

"And my arm." Meiling walked into view, a small burn on her arm.

"What did you do?" Remilia stood and paced over.

"Well, she burnt me, messed the gates lock up and broke the front door latch." Meiling counted off.

"I was in a rush, it was serious."

"Still could've said 'hey, this is reason, please move'. I'm not an immovable object and unreasonable prick. I let Keine in for her short visit." Meiling complained.

"Oh, so she came here, wondered where she'd gotten to…"

"Patchy, go find Reimu with Flan. I need to talk to are little fire storm here."

"Got it." Patchouli grabbed Flandre's hand and dragged her out, the blond staining her neck to continue watching.

* * *

 **Human village**

Keine walked through the front gate, sighing. She'd talked to Reimu, gotten some details and now needed to deal with the little problem of telling everyone about the loose blood. Everyone, who so happen to freak out a small rumor. Everyone, who is scared witless of the vampires. Everyone, who is gathered around the school? Keine marched over to the crowd, catching small pieces of the conversation.

"...asked to stay." "...infected…" "...fairies...immune…" "Go…"

Keine forced her way into the crowd to find...the three fairies of light, surrounded.

"But what happens if you can spread it even if you can't be infected by it?" a man asked.

"I don't think that's how diseases work…" Luna whispered.

"We can't trust that, your a fairy, you could have forgotten something!"

"Hey, Luna knows the most of us three. If she says it doesn't do that, it doesn't!" Sunny argued back.

Keine stepped into view, the argument stalling at her appearance.

"Care to explain?"

"Miss Kamishirasawa?" she responded with a raised eyebrow "Eh, these fairies brought the puppet girl from the forest into the village because she was suffering from some disease. The guide told them to wait here for you, but well...if they were carrying her, they might have the disease too and-"

"Okay, that's enough. You three come with me." she ordered, parting the crowd.

The three flew over the group as the humans moved for Keine. Worry was etched on their faces. Want had Alice caught to cause this reaction? Well, a few questions will answer that. And Mokou wanted to speak with her too, odd. She lead them towards her office, a quiet place for a questions-.

A loud crash made the fairies flinch and Keine grimace. What was that…

She turned and marched over to the sound and opened the nearby classroom door, dumbfounded by the sight. A crackling shadowy hole was square in the middle of the blackboard, and the desks had been knocked over by someone. The black haired someone rose up, a shard of wood stuck a horn.

"Hey asshole, stop throwing me through portals!" Seija yelled at the hole, eye twitching.

Seija than turned slightly to spot the four, all staring.

"Oh f**k…"

"SWEAR!" Star cried, face twisted in horror.

"INDECENT!" Luna added covering her eyes seeing Seija's shirt.

"It's the mean girl who ate the cookie Sanae gave me!" Sunny accused.

After the three yelled their respective crys, Keine quickly grabbed Seija collar before she could move.

"Okay, care to explain why you're in the village? Destroying my classroom? With a hole in her shirt, after being banned from coming anywhere near here?" Keine berated, Seija giving a smile.

"Fun fact teach, didn't want to be here, but the Gap b**th's fox is dragging me around along with the help of a wolf." Seija spat back.

"SWEAR!"

"And what do you mean by that?"

"The fox wants to find a youkai called Kageshō who stole a little blood and made a holy vampire. You'll never guess who though." Seija teased.

"Reimu…" Keine breathed.

Seija looked stunned for a second.

"YYYYYeah...was that a good guess or...?"

"Kage...where did I hear that…" Sunny mused, straining her brain as the name sparked a glimpse of something in her head.

"The blond girl was saying it when the white haired girl was checking on her." Luna chimed in.

"Really? I'd like to hear about that, if I could." the five all turned to see Ran standing in the doorway, Kagerou peeking in from behind her.

* * *

 **Base of Youkai mountain**

Just off a worn down and unmaintained path, a green haired girl sat on a patch of grass. Sanae's eyes scanned the sky, the clear blue uninterrupted by clouds save one that seemed to cling to the mountain's summit. So a normal clear day. She sighed as the wind picked up, a chill whipping around her. She had just gotten a message from Rinnosuke that his computer was 'doing the blue thing again' and he asked her to fix it. The main problems were thought that the message was from a week ago, having been shoved into the donation box and she'd just emptied it and found it...and she didn't know how to fix a computer blue screening. It could be loads of things. It was at least 15 years old, using Windows vista. An old version of vista to boot. He only used it to catalogue stuff with notepad, why couldn't he just...I don't know, make a list? He was using a diesel portable generator to power the thing how is a pen and paper less convenient?! She shook her head, calm down, it's fine. She'll have a look, if it's dead, it's dead. She'll get him some ink and a pen. Or a pencil. Or a brush it really didn't matter.

She stood and rubbed her neck.

"No more putting it off."

As she walked onto the path and set off, something made her stop. A slight movement. Then another...and a rustle of a bush near the thinning trees. Is it a mouse? Or a rat? Or a Youkai? Fairy? Other random animals? She didn't have to wait long before a black cat leapt out of the greenery, half running, half limping. Sanae's face curious expression changed to one of worry.

"Hey little cat! Are you okay?" she asked running over.

The animal froze before looking at her. She noticed it had two tails. She only knew one cat that had two tail and that was Sage Yakumo's shinigami's shinigami. As she approached, the cat jumped at her, morphing into a humanoid shape. Chen grabbed onto Sanae, crying.

"It hurts! My leg hurts! Make it stop!" she wailed, grabbing harder.

Sanae pried her off and examined her leg, gasping in surprise. The leg had a horrid burn all down the back of it, the skin burnt off, exposing flesh. It was an angry red, blood leaking from it due to the strain of running. Sanae rubbed the poor girl's head.

"What happened?!"

"S-Some girl broke into our house cuz she thought no one was there, so I tried scaring her off but she made this big tentacle thing and tried stabbing me and when I escaped she shot me with magic!" Chen cried, her claws digging into Sanae.

"Okay okay, it's okay, I'm here. Uhh, we need to get that wound treated. Eientei is a 15 minute fly, can you hold on until then?"

"Uhumm." Chen nodded weakly.

"Good, hold on." and with that, Sanae sped off into the air.

Sorry Rinnosuke, this girl's got a cat to help! It probably wouldn't take long anyway, Eirin is rarely busy, and good old Reisen could help if she was.

* * *

 **Gap…**

Yukari floated in the void, thinking. She needed to check on...let's see.

1) The shrine to see if it was clean.

2) Eirin, to check if she has calmed down and found what she was looking for.

3) Reimu. Hopefully the Scarlets haven't driven her up the wall.

4) Ran, if she could find her. And if not, Chen, if Ran had spoken to her.

Yukari smiled and opened a gap, stepping out at the shrine. Silence rang in her ears. The fairies were...very quiet. She walked up to the shrine and looked in. Clean, and empty. She wandered over to the well, having spotted the bucket. The ground was damp. A mop, the bleach and a rag sat in the center of the open path.

 _This is unusual._

She walked over to the steps, glancing down. She spotted something...black? Quickly walking down, Yukari stopped at a stain on the approach to the steps. A drying, black ichor of a fluid.

"Now I'm worried…"

Yukari opened a gap and stepped into it.

She appeared at Eientei, using a second to enter. She stepped out into...pandemonium. Eirin was hastily concocting something, using gods knows what. She could hear what sounded like Marisa shouting in the side room. And then Clownpiece suddenly appeared with the Lady of Eientei dragged behind her.

"Gap lady!" Clownpiece yelled as she near ran into her.

But Yukari, she was more interested with the patient she had spotted. Alice had lost consciousness, squirming in discomfort even in sleep. And that black...she arrived into a serious situation.

"Lady Sage, is there a reason for your return?" Kaguya asked as she escaped Clownpiece's grip.

Fairies still, made her skin crawl to say the least.

"I was just coming to check if Eirin was able to talk, but it appears she is, very busy."

"Yes, I am not sure what has happened, but it appears serious."

The talking got Eirin to look over, spotting Yukari and Kaguya.

"Kaguya, could you continue grinding this until it's a fine paste and add it to this mix and Yukari, great timing I need Youkai blood." Eirin stepped away from the desk and grabbed Yukari's arm, Kaguya stepping around the two.

Four people in the surgery at once was beginning to eat up room. Clownpiece escaped into the patient room.

"Okay, zeriouz Aya, ya gotta stay put. There'z zome importan' ztuff going on and you're getting in the 'ay!" Marisa attempted to explain to the semi-lucid tengu.

"But I'm fine! I'll just leave and be out of the way."

"Your outta the way 'ere!"

"Do you need help?" Clownpiece stepped over.

"Yeah, keep her here and outta the main place, I'ma go hel' out." Marisa passed off the tengu as she left.

"Hey, I've been meaning to talk to you!" Aya announced "I wanted to interview the moon fairy." she pulled out a bent notebook and pen from her shirt pocket.

"Ehh...hell fairy…" Clownpiece corrected.

The next twenty minutes were a daze. Eirin hastily explained Alice's condition as she drew out...a fair amount of blood from Yukari, who didn't have much say in it. It made her a bit dizzy, but she recovered after minute. Marisa took over the grinding, Kaguya reading off a badly scrawled note from Eirin as she observed Alice, who was worsening. Eirin hooked up a new blood bag and shifted Marisa over as to start actually making the 'cure'. It was more a suppressant, weakening the blood and as such, the poison. She dissolved it in a solvent and sucked some into a syringe, injecting it into Alice. The black slowed and resided slightly, some going purple. It didn't look much better.

"When Reisen and Mokou get back with that report, I can hopefully make something to actually stop it, then cure it. But slowing down is the best I can do." she sighed.

"Wat? Didn't you make the report or zomethin'? Ya not remember it?" Marisa complained.

"50 years ago, on a subject I never finished, about something I thought could never get out. There have been other things to remember." Eirin countered.

"Well, you did keep that blood all this time. It was always a possibility with that around." Yukari added.

"You cauzed thiz!?" Marisa fumed.

"Not directly. Blood samples were stolen, Eirin did not do this." Kaguya corrected.

"Gah, that doezn't matter. Wat if thiz person uzez the blood and makez a vampire or zomethin'"

Yukari smiled. It was brief. A knowing smile. Should she tell Marisa about Reimu? They were friends, but she could fly off the handle. She should keep it under wraps...a tiny bit longer. Let her calm herself from her worry for Alice, yes, that would be for the best.

A knock on the door made the group all turn, before the door was pushed open. A rabbit in pink waved at them.

"Miss Yagokoro, you have someone who needs help!" she announced.

"Uh, is it serious? I already have a lot on my plate." Eirin went silent as Sanae pushed past the rabbit, clutching a crying Chen.

The wound had torn open slightly and had leaked enough blood to stain the bottom of her skirt red.

The room was quiet.

Yukari was quiet.

Yukari's face twisted slightly.

It twitched...it frowned.

She walked over to Chen, who looked up at Yukari, before jumping off Sanae onto her.

"Who." she ordered.

"A g-girl...in our house. Black hair, s-she had a tentacle t-thingy-" Yukari handed Chen back to Sanae.

"I have business to attend to." she vanished into a gap.

"I think, zomeone might be f**king dead." Marisa whispered.

* * *

She appeared in their home. Yukari didn't bother about her boots. She didn't care for damage. She scanned the living space. Nothing. Ran's room door was ajar. She yanked it open. The room was trashed, the floor cracked and splintered. There was a hole in the wall. A shadowy construct rose into view. She blasted it with enough power to liquify it, the excess blasting out the back wall. Yukari grabbed the portal as it snapped shut.

"Are you there little thief? You had better hope your not. I don't know your motive. I don't care why you're doing this. You killed someone. You poisoned someone. You ruined someone. You **hurt** someone. You don't care for Gensokyo's rules. Fine by me. When I catch you, not if, **when** , you will not get off lightly. Gensokyo is not infinity. **You cannot hide from me.** " the portal closed within a second, Yukari walking to her room.

Kageshō sat alone in a tree, shaded by leaves. She wasn't using her tail to control the construct. She was just reading with a portal open to make sure it was fine. Then she heard Yukari. Her blood ran cold. She was serious…

She was so dead...

* * *

AN: Hello. I have one delivery of touhou written at night due to being busy studying for tests.

Anyway, I was away for two weeks and wrote this at night after day studying, so I hope it's fine. I'm glad I got to do more of this, which makes me sound horrible because of what happened in the the chapter. Sorry.  
I think this is the first chapter to not have Reimu actually in it, which is a rarity. And Sanae is probably going to be the last character I add to this. Otherwise I going to start forgetting people.

I actually wanted to mention one thing I found funny. While looking for my college notes, I found a piece of paper that I lost that had what I wanted to do like, 6 chapters ago or something on it. With the big one being a line that said 'Aya gets better and has mini paras attempting to figure out the vampire'. I lost that, forgot it, and now she's the butt of a constant fever joke. Truly, my mind is the most consistent of all writers...

So yeah, that's about it. Pm, review, remark on how I'm forgetful or something.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Tracking

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

 **Back at the mansion**

Reimu stomped out of the room she had been sleeping in. Her cheek still stung from the punch, despite there being no mark or redness. Stupid personified vampire half...yeah that sounds dumb. It...well, she needed a name, that wasn't vamp Reimu. Veimu? Reimp? Annoyance? She liked that last one, yeah...annoyance, life ruiner. Ruin...no, she should give it a actually name. Reimu stopped and mused through thoughts. If it was some part of her, then it may end up sticking with her until she gets cured, so calling it a name might make her get attracted to her. It was strange through, she looked like an older version of her. Which was a bit off because she was sure she was done growing. An old copy...copy...should she just call her Copy? Eh, good enough. She could call her Copy for now. It really didn't matter in the long run. She'd be gone when she's cured. The fact that Reimu repeatedly thought that was a good indication of the fact she was, worried to say the least. And what was the thing that was stopping Copy from talking?

Reimu was dragged out of her mind by a powerful glomp-a-la-blonde that knocked the air out of her lungs.

"Hi Reimu!" Flandre yelled, hugging her.

"We came to find you." Patchouli added, folding her arms "Calmed down yet?"

Reimu stared daggers at the magician before thinking of something.

"Hey Patchouli, Flandre, have you heard of, or experienced, another person in your head that's like, part of you but different?"

"Nope." Flandre replied instantly, but the purple mage closed her eyes.

"Hmm, I haven't, but that question implies you have."

"Well, I fell asleep a bit ago and well, there's like an older me that's supposedly my vampire side in my head...that was made to contain my normal powers and protect me and now kind of just...exists, in there."

"Ohh, that's not normal...come with me."

Patchouli lead Reimu to her library, Flandre holding onto Reimu's arm for dear life. It was like she was afraid she'd disappear if she let go. The three entered the musty space and Reimu grimaced. The dust was thin, but still present. And the smell was, off. Was it always this bad? When she fought in here, it was-actually she was more focused on the fight, she could have missed the unpleasant smell. Patchouli stopped at a table.

"Could you keep Flandre busy while I look for something." she clapped, her assistant appearing from the side "Get Reimu a book to read Flandre or something to draw on and with."

"Got it!" the devil announced flying off.

"What, wait! I'm not a babysitting-" Patchouli had walked away "-service…" she finished.

Flandre dragged her over to the table, the two sitting down.

"Hey, since you figured out your powers now, we should make you new card things so we can play." Flandre suggested.

"I'm not sure, I never really thought of spell cards as toys to be used in play. They're meant for people to work out incidents and stuff without killing each other."

"Marisa said they were for play fighting and seeing who's stronger!" Flandre yelled, arms in the air.

 _Damn it Marisa…_

"Here." Reimu turned to find the devil standing next to the table, a tray of black and coloured ink in her left hand and a stack of stiff papers in the other.

She pulled out a knife and place in down.

"You can cut up the paper with the knife and ink in drawings. Miss Patchouli doesn't have crayons or those fancy outsider coloured charcoal things, so spell inking ink will have to do." the red haired girl explained.

"Thanks...ehh…" she just realised...did she ever hear this girl's name...ever?

"No problem, I'm going back to reading the vampire books to see if there's anything in'm."

Hmm...it didn't really matter. For now, she just needed to keep-

"Flandre, use a brush!" Reimu yelled as the blond stuck her finger into a brown inkwell, using her finder to draw in blue.

She just smiled and nodded, rubbing the ink off, onto her dress.

 _Oh this is gonna be a cleaning nightmare for Sakuya._ Reimu sighed internally.

* * *

 **Classroom**

Ran walked over to the three fairies, golden eyes glancing between them.

"So, what was this about 'Kage'?" she questioned, bending down.

"Ehh...so, the blond girl that's umm...she comes by, sometimes." Sunny stuttered.

"I don't remember her name, but it's not Marisa, she showed up at the shrine with this bad black skin rash." Luna added.

"Alice." Keine corrected.

"We didn't know what to do. She wanted help and we couldn't do anything so the four of us flew her here to get to the doctor place." Sunny continued, scratching her cheek.

"The four of us crashed into the village and the humans didn't want to help until the white haired girl showed up."

"She flew off with Clownpiece and we were told to stay here to tell the teacher about how she wanted to talk to her." Star finished.

"Hmm, and Alice was talking about 'Kage'?"

"Well, more mumbling in confusion."

Ran stood up and nodded. Okay, next destination, somewhere Alice was. Her home or the forest of magic. The forest was too big to search quickly, so her home would be a good place to start at least. As she thought, Seija escaped Keine's grip.

"Okay, you have a destination, that doesn't involve me being thrown through a mystery portal. So that means I'm out! You said if I help I can go, I've helped enough and going head first into a door and then tables is enough for me!" Seija complained.

Everyone looked at the horned girl. Sunny flew up to her head and yanked the wood off her horn. She shooed her away.

"Well, I guess we said that. So yeah, you can go." Kagerou shrugged, Seija smirking.

"Good, see ya!" she turned to leave before Keine grabbed her collar.

"No, we still need to deal with the fact that you, a wanted criminal, are in the village. And if you're not doing anything important, then you can brought to the elder to receive punishment."

Seija froze and looked at Ran and Kagerou. The wolf was smiling.

 _S-She knew that would happen, you sneaky asshole! No, I can't get caught like this! Uhh, uhhh...oh great._

"W-Wait! I-I could maybe still help! Y-Yeah, I was the only one actually saw the youkai, you need me to identify her properly!" Seija reasoned, flailing widely.

"Oh really? So, you're going to help us out until we find her? That's so nice of you Seija!" Kagerou fake smiled with a clap, grabbing her "I knew you'd come around."

"I hate you, so much!" she spat.

"I hate you too." Kagerou teased rubbing her head.

"Will both of you stop it. If you're going to help, stay focused." Ran grabbed the two of them, frowning "Lady Yukari wants Kageshō found as fast as possible so she doesn't turn anyone else into a vampire like Reimu!"

"R-Reimu…" Sunny stopped dead.

The other two fairies froze, before looking at each other.

"She's...but she's the shrine maiden…" Luna whispered.

"They have to be holy or stuff…"

"Ha, you sccccrewwwwed uuuup!" Seija taunted, before Kagerou bonked her on the head "Ow, stop hitting me!"

"When you stop being a dick."

"I'm a girl!"

"You know what I mean."

As they argued, the fairies of light were starting to panic, whispering between each other.

"Everyone stop!" Keine yelled, the chattering between the group fading "Before anyone leaves, you need a shirt." she pointed at Seija "You need to stop antagonizing who you need to work with." she pointed at Kagerou "And I'll explain when they leave, okay?" she knelt down to the fairies.

She then stood up and grabbed Seija, dragging her away.

"Why is everyone dragging everyone!" Seija threw her hands up as she rounded a corner.

* * *

 **Eientei**

No one moved for a brief minute after Yukari left before Eirin turned to Marisa.

"Look after Alice until I bandage Chen, I won't be long." she ordered grabbing the cat girl off Sanae, walking into the side room.

Sanae gave a quiet sigh before she went ridge seeing Alice.

"Oh gods! What happened to Alice?" she looked at Marisa, noticing her nose "And your nose?!"

"My noze was from Patchy chuckin' me across the library. Iz fine, Alice though, zomeone poizoned her with blood."

"Blood? You mean she got the wrong blood type transfused into her?"

"No, Youkai only have a single blood type. She has been poisoned by vampire blood." Kaguya explained.

"What, how?"

"Someone stole vampire blood Eirin was using for research some fifty years ago that she failed to destroy due to never finishing her work."

"How did someone know that she had the blood?" Sanae closed her eyes, thinking.

"I guezz...hang on, yea', how'd they find that out?" Marisa realised.

Kaguya shrugged, clueless too. Before anyone could continue, the door burst open.

"Master, I'm here! I've got the report!" Reisen yelled as she glanced around, not spotting Eirin.

"Zhe'z in the back fixin' Chen, give her a minute. Until then, maybe zomeone who knowz medical ztuff zhould make zure Alice is oka'." Marisa pointed at the side door then Alice.

"Uh? Marisa…? And-no, no doesn't matter!"

Reisen walked over to Alice, feeling her forehead. She was...a bit cold. The black marring her skin was slowly creeping up and consuming the purple. Her face was twisted in discomfort. Reisen opened one of her eyes, examining the darkened scapula. Red and purple veins pulsed in the dark.

"Oh, she doesn't look amazing…" she whispered.

* * *

Eirin placed Chen down on one of the beds turned to a side table. It housed trauma care supplies and disinfectant.

"This is going to hurt, no way around it." she muttered as she soaked a towel in the yellow fluid.

In one quick motion, she placed the towel on the wound and firmly rubbed it in. Chen's response? A scream, a very loud scream. After twenty seconds of rubbing, the poor girl was screaming in agony, the towel staining red from the blood. Eirin grabbed a roll of white bandage cloth and rolled it quickly and tightly around the burnt flesh, grabbing a nearby bottle as she finished. She grabbed a spoon and poured out a large amount of the gooey liquid, holding it out to Chen.

"This is a powerful painkiller, it will make the pain go away, but you'll probably fall asleep from it."

Chen nodded and opened her mouth. She swallowed the whole thing, clamming up at the horrible taste. Eirin placed them down.

"Ask the fairy if you need anything." she said leaving.

"What?! Hey, why am I the one dealing with all the sick people!" Clownpiece shouted after, free from Aya's rambling due to having lost focus mid-interview.

Eirin came back out to find Reisen examining Alice.

"Do you have the report?"

The rabbit jumped from the sudden voice before holding up the papers, which were quickly taken. Eirin flicked through the report.

 _Okay okay, let's see. Due to how severe it is, I should use the strongest cure I found...let's see...blood of an immortal, yeast...okay maybe not that one because it can possible cure vampires and those leaves are rare, the next best one then._ Eirin reasoned.

"Reisen, go get everything required to make this version of the anti vampire cure."

Reisen nodded and grabbed Kaguya.

"Will you help Lady Kaguya?" she asked already dragging her away.

"W-Why me?"

"Because I trust you more not to drop or grab the wrong thing."

"Wha', hey!?" Marisa fumed at the jab at her and Sanae.

"Leave it be you two. Now, I need to make more of that suppressant. Marisa grind mor-" "I'm back!" Mokou interrupted, stumbling in.

"Mokou, you didn't need to come ba-where is your hand?" Eirin sighed looking at the immortal, a bloody stump where left hand should be and a few cuts on her face and neck.

"Ehh…" Mokou rolled her hand, pulling out the severed one after she was done.

" _ **Well, how are you going to pay, fix or repay for the damages you did?" Remilia asked as she reached Mokou.**_

" _ **Hey, come on, I was in a rush. It's fine. She's fine." she pointed to Meiling.**_

" _ **That's not the point we're really getting at." Meiling stated, arms folded.**_

" _ **The latch thing is fine, just get a new metal bar."**_

" _ **And the gate."**_

 _ **Mokou stopped and thought for a second. Hmm, she had messed the gate up. It won't be quick or easy to fix.**_

" _ **How about, to save on blood spending money so you can have the money to fix it, I give you a lot of blood, which won't harden even in air. Good enough?" she proposed.**_

" _ **Well, we do have Reimu now..." Remilia whispered.**_

" _ **Hmm, Reimu, the shrine maiden? What do you mean, 'have'?"**_

" _ **Nothing, nothing. Sakuya?"**_

" _ **One moment." Sakuya vanished in a sudden distortion before reappearing after 5 seconds, placing down a massive metal pot "Filling this should be enough." she smiled.**_

" _ **You know that would kill most people and youkai right?" she raised an eyebrow.**_

"' _ **Most' is the key word there."**_

" _ **Fine, now, how-" Sakuya sliced Mokou's hand off, a fountain of blood erupting from the severed limb "-yeah that works."**_

 _ **After a few minutes of draining, Mokou standing silent with an amused expression at Remilia's confused one, most likely due to the abnormal amount of blood coming from her body. What was she expecting? Although she near collapsed at the final minute, Mokou shook her head as she grabbed the leaking limb. Sakuya picked up her hand and shoved it onto the stump as the blood slowed, the wound closing. It fell off and hit the ground with a quiet splat.**_

" _ **There, now if you'll excuse me, I've a hand to reattach at some point." Mokou grabbed the hand and waved her severed limb as she walked away.**_

" _ **Well that was a thing." Remilia commented as Meiling looked down at the pot.**_

" _ **How many liters is that?"**_

" _ **Around twenty five."**_

" _ **...S**t. That's impressive."**_

Mokou shoved her hand into the wound and grabbed a bandage, using it to hold them together. The stiff hand sat unmoving on the stained wrist cloth.

"Good enough. And it's not that interesting." Mokou shrugged.

"Whatever, now, do you need anything?" Eirin questioned as she looked back at Marisa who was grind up dock leaves.

"No, except for a question, you know who the new vamp is?"

"No, Sakuya simply said there was one no make it a fine paste."

"Why am I doin' thiz in the firzt place!" she complained.

"No, it's just the Lady of the manor said Reimu's name."

"Oh, maybe Reimu is there looking for who got turned, or looking after them, or tracking how it happened." Sanae suggested.

"Yea', zmellz like an incident."

"Alright then, if that's all, could everyone please leave if you're not helping or a patient. This room was not meant for so many."

"Okay." "Got it!" the green and white girls said simultaneity.

And with that, they left, leaving Marisa to play alchemist nurse with the doctor.

Mokou and Sanae exited Eientei and went off in different directions. Mokou walked back to the village via the worn path, humming to herself. Oh yeah, she needed to talk to Keine about her little discovery. Well, little was the wrong word. What's a better one...hmm, maybe deeply worrying? Yes, that could describe what she found. She exited the tall stalks and began walking at a more brisk pace, quickly reaching the village. As she entered, she passed by Yukari's kitsune, who was running out of the village, with the wolf girl and some horned girl being dragged, frowning in one of the school uniforms Keine had attempted to make the children wear before giving up. Weird scene. Wait, that girl...had she seen her before? Maybe. She walked up to the school as three fairies flew out and away, looking sad and worried. Okay, something happened while she was gone. Keine was standing by the door.

"Yo, I have something to show you that's important." she announced as she approached.

"I better not be something that affects the village. Between Reimu, poisoning and a stray rule breaking youkai I don't need anything else." Keine sighed.

"Oh...you're going to hate this."

"Oh gods what?"

"You know that kid that went missing a few days ago? Well…"

"He's dead, isn't he."

"If it was just I found a body it would be sad, but, it's more...off putting, what I found." Mokou warned "His body is in the bamboo forest, you need to see it."

Keine nodded as she was lead away, Mokou walking back towards the tall green wall. She lead the teacher along the worn path before turning off it, along a hole in the bamboo wall.

"Since he vanished three days ago, I've been walking off the path every time I could to have a look for him. And this morning, I found something." she stopped at a small clearing.

There was...a burnt hand barely peeking out of the soil.

"And something to note is this." Mokou dug up the body slightly, exposing his arm, which began burning in the light "As you might guess, that's not normal." she dumped the dirt back.

"Is he, alive?" Keine asked.

"I dug up his face when I found him and the unmoving 'oh gods I'm dying face' say no."

"How…" Keine grit her teeth.

She knew how, that youkai...had she done this too? Turned and murdered this boy...somehow, turned Reimu, used blood as poison. This was getting worse at every discovery. But why kill him? He was turning into a vampire, like Reimu...so why?

"So, how are you going to tell everyone about, this?" she pointed to the disturbed soil.

"(Sigh)...I don't know. But it's reached a point that I can't just hide it or wait a day or two. Should we bring him back?"

"I'd wait til night, unless ya want a crispy corpse."

"Yes, yes. Well, time to incite fear I guess." Keine whispered.

"No, not fear. Uncontrollable panic."

Keine only sighed.

* * *

 **Group Kitsune (should the groups have names?)**

Ran ran along the path to the forest, looking back at her two…'helpers'. Seija was scowling in the uniform Keine had forced her to wear to make her decent. Although she didn't really care if she a hole in her shirt, everyone else did. Kagerou was dragging her along by the arm, smiling to herself. When she agreed to let them help…heh 'agreed', she thought they would be more help then guinea pig and handler. If they encounter Kageshō, they would be useful, as distractions if nothing else. Seija knew how to survive unfair fights and Kagerou would be another body to attack from, so if the two would just take this a bit more seriously, all would be good. But of course…

"I hate this." Seija repeated for the sixth time.

"We know Seija, but I think you look nice." Kagerou teased looking back at the amanojaku.

She was forced into a white and blue sailor uniform top and a black skirt. No shoes though, she had refused them outright. It was a little small on her, which makes sense, it was for at maximum fourteen year old while she was more the size of a sixteen or seventeen year old. She broke out of the dragging.

"Enough, I'll walk! Why am I being dragged and thrown everywhere!"

"Because we're forcing you to help?" Kagerou smiled.

"Every minute I'm stuck herw is another minute of wishing I was dead." Ran glanced back "Metaphorically! Stupid b**th, I'm being rhetorical." Seija huffed.

"I don't think you understand what rhetorical means."

As the two rattled on, Ran tuned them out. She needed a plan for if they found the youkai. Yukari wants her alive, to punish. Which would probably kill her. So, if the girl does not use the spell card rules, they can expect attacks and bullets to be fast, strong and fired with intent to kill or harm. The tendrils she makes, as Seija put it, they're another obstacle to overcome. She should presume they will be made to not only take warning shots at them, but be looking for a chance to injury them too. One killed Seija. If Kageshō is within the puppeteers home, the enclosed space may play to her advantage. If in the forest, the open space may lend to them avoiding her attempts at harming them. But, the shadowy gaps, they are a problem. She could flee into them and escape. Sending Seija alone would be a bad idea, she could fail to slow her down or escape. Or die. That's a possibility. They need to restrain her if found.

As Ran pondered a plan, the group entered the wooded area, the western sun slowly blocked by leaves. A dark twilight surrounded them. Ran stopped.

"Does anyone know the precise location of the home?" she asked.

It won't take her long to find it, but going straight there would be nice.

"Wait, you don't know where it is? Why did we wander out here if you don't even know that?!" Seija yelled.

"I can locate it within three minutes, if we knew the location already though we could go straight there. We do not, so I shall return." and with that, Ran flew into the air and sped off.

"Hmm, so we just have to wait for her to get back?" Kagerou shrugged, jumping into a tree.

"Uhhh, this is stupid." Seija complained kicking a stick, wincing as it caught between her toes.

"Now that was your fault."

"Shut it."

"You should have taken the shoes."

"No, barefoot or sandals. I hate shoes and boots."

"Most people like shoes though."

"Exactly."

"Is that an act by the way?" Kagerou asked.

"...What?"

"The 'you like that, well I hate it!' crap. The few times I've talked to you and from what I've heard from a few others is that you'll reject or claim you dislike something if someone likes it. You can't seriously be like that. What if I like sandals and a few more like bare feet. 'Well, can't have legs now.' A phantom 'I like having no legs!' Well, gotta have nothing at all for my lower body. Do you see how dumb this sounds?" Kagerou mocked, smirking.

"Shut up, it's more complicated than that!"

"Is it?"

"Yeah, it is! I...I can't explain it. If someone comes along expressing how much they love something, deep down, something snaps inside and a bubbling disdain starts hanging around in my head. Then the more people say how amazing it is the more it grows until I can't stand the thing. I used to like sunflowers, I saw them once in a book I stole, than the flower youkai got the humans into them and now I can't stand them! It's-It's-it's...annoying sometimes. I don't mind people not liking me, I like being alone, because people hate being alone. It's, complicated." Seija explain, rubbing her hair widely.

"You know the human kids didn't like that uniform, right?"

"Don't tell me that I don't wanna like this stupid thing." she yelled at the wolf.

Kagerou only laughed. If Seija could suppress that part in her nature, maybe she could exist with others? Hmm, maybe a side project when this is over…

Ran landed next to them.

"Come on, I found it, we need to search it quickly." she announced flying off, the two following.

* * *

 **Yakumo residents**

Yukari walked out of Ran's room and wandered around the their joint living space as she went to her room. Not much was disturbed. She opened the door and found nothing too out of place. The wardrobe was open. Nothing was out of place. Her box was fine, good. No need for that to get out. She sighed.

 _Only Ran's room was messed with, that's good at least_

She walked out and over to the front door. Now, she needed to check on Reimu, a quick visit. She needed to be home for Ran to report. After she returns, she'll check on Chen, and Alice. Things were slipping slowly. She didn't like that at all. Yukari opened a gap and stepped into it.

She appeared in the dining hall of the mansion, looking around. There wasn't anyone around. Mmm, must not have returned after the trip to the library...several hours ago. They must be somewhere else. She stepped into another gap. She appeared in the library. Before she could move, she heard a shout.

"What are you two doing?!" Patchouli shouted.

Yukari walked over to the noise to find Reimu and Flandre sitting at a table, Frandre's cap, face, hair and clothes stained with blue, black and green ink. Reimu had purple in her hair and some red on her exposed arm.

"Flandre got over excited and started waving her brush around." Reimu explained with a neutral face.

"She wouldn't give me the red!" Flandre whined.

"I was using it!"

"Stop acting like children, Flandre how old are you?" Patchouli's scowl was burning into her.

"Ehhh...over 500?"

"Exactly, you're the older sister, you should act like it."

"Wait a second, hey, what's that supposed to mean?!" Reimu snapped, insulted.

"Now now, sisters shouldn't fight." Yukari injected walking into view.

"Yukari! Where have you been?!"

"Doing some investigation."

"(Sigh) You know, it's probably good you're here." Patchouli placed a book down away from the inky mess "Because we need to talk about that thing in your head."

"What's this about?" Yukari sat next to Reimu, intrigued.

"Well, Reimu, reexplain, and then, I'll talk about what I think I found."

"Okay, when I fell asleep a while ago…"

And so Reimu repeated previously explained things, in a bit of detail.

* * *

AN: Hey, new chapter, sorry for the wait.

I've been a bit busy with this story, by that I mean planning something out. I usually have the start and basic endpoint of the story reasoned out before I start. But with this story I didn't really have an ending planned out, so I decided to...plan out everything to the very end. It took awhile. I actually wrote the last two chapters fully. So when I get there, they'll come out fast. I know how this ends, I just need to get there.

That's about it, pm, review, hope my cold goes away so my neck stops hurting.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Blood battle

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

As Reimu finished explaining, Patchouli looked back at a book on her lap. Reimu stared at the magician, waiting. And waiting. Flandre picked her brush back up and started inking again. And waited what was she waiting for?!

"Hey, are you going to say anything?" Reimu asked.

The response was a single raised finger and 'shush'. Reimu's eye twitched as the purple haired girl continued, looking for something.

"So Reimu, used to the vampire life yet?" Yukari joked.

"No. I'd prefer this to be fixed soon.

"I see, well, there is some progress on that front. You'll most likely hear something soon. As soon as Reisen or Eirin comes back with the report."

"Wait what?"

"Alice, the poor girl was poisoned, so they're dealing with her not dying." Yukari said with a hint of worry "Someone has the blood, and they're not playing nice."

"W-What? Is she okay?" Reimu looked concerned.

This, wasn't good.

"She's being treated." Yukari stated.

"Okay, I've looked through it all." Patchouli spoke up, looking at them "This thing in you, it mentioned the blood was old, yes?"

Reimu nodded.

"Okay. I always thought vampirism was more a curse than anything. A forced magical transformation. One that was hard to dispel. But Eirin, in that report, called a disease, hemomorphic arcanteria. From what was said, it was some form of magic based microorganism that modified the body. It's hard to cure because you need to kill it without killing the body and then turn it back to normal. But the blood was 50 years old. That means the disease was 50 years old. Blood is made daily. That thing is probably made daily. What do you think would happen over an extended period of time?" Patchouli asked.

"It'd rot like old meat!" Flandre cried, having been listening.

"Not wrong actually. The disease causing microbes, they'd be a little off. Or a lot off. They supposedly mess with cells, what if their age made it so they did it wrong. What if they messed with brain cells, in a bad way?" she suggested.

"Oh, I see, you think they made Reimu a little crazy and split her mind?" Yukari laughed, finding the theory, idiotic.

Her mind would be degrading rapidly if she was suffering brain damage.

"I bet you're think she would be suffering from worse if her brain was melting out her ear. No...vampires regenerate. What if it damaged it, then started healing any other damage. She'd suffer from the first part, but never progress." the librarian suggested.

Yukari's laugh slowed.

"Hey, come on, that's stupid. Right Yukari?...Yukari…?" Reimu nudged her, a nervous smile on her.

"If that was the case, then curing it would...Eirin needs to look before…" Yukari was mumbling.

"Y-You aren't taking that seriously."

"Your mind may have fractured slightly, then whatever sealed up your power cobbled the chips into a pile and mashed it together into a personality, before the vampiric healing stopped the decay. It may have used the magic and vampirism as a glue, turning it into a copy of you, but a vampire, charged with keeping it together. Maybe this caused some damage-" "STOP!" Reimu yelled, grabbing her head

"Stop it, this is stupid, it's not real, you don't have proof! Stop making up crap!" she yelled, tears in her eyes.

"It's just a theory, it could be something else. But from this book I read." she held up a book on mental conditions "It sounds like you're brain got a bit damaged, creating the other you, before the vampirism stopped it-" "Stop, I'm not getting medical advice from you! T-This has to be something to do with the blood, but not brain stuff. Stop it…"

"Reimu, it's a guess. She could be wrong, but you asked, and she delivered. We don't know how it was made. You might have to ask her." Yukari tapped Reimu's head.

"But she won't answer me...on that…"

" _ **Ehh, that or your body would rip itself apart."**_

" _ **I think the oldness of the blood messed with your stuff"**_

" _ **wished to purge the taint from your blood, but it would have killed you if it tired."**_

N-No...she meant that the Hakurei power would have exterminated her. She meant that...she meant that...s-she meant that...s-s-she...m-meant…

" **AAAAAGGGGHHHHH!"**

Flandre jumped at the scream. Yukari shied away, flinching at the volume. This idea had merit, but none of them were doctors. She frowned.

 _This is going to make Reimu paranoid._

"Come now, until we get some real advice from Eirin or your friend in your head, you shouldn't freak out. We could be miles off the truth." Yukari soothed, rubbing her back.

Patchouli glared at her, before standing down as a more murderous glare that bore into her.

"Now Reimu, I need to go check something important, please stay here for now. Night approaches, and you're a bit stressed. Try and relax."

"Yeah Reimu, come on! Let's make real spell stuff." Flandre chimed in, smiling and grabbing her arm.

Reimu just sat still, fear plastered on her face. Yukari grabbed Patchouli and dragged her away.

"Do you think that's what is happening?" she hissed.

"To be honest, I don't know. It was from when I was researching into it after Flandre had a bad meltdown and wrecked her room 40 years ago and Remilia wanted to make sure she was all okay up there."

"And was she?"

"She was locked in her room for 500 years, she wasn't the paragon of stability. Hanging around Remilia and Marisa after the scarlet mist helped a lot though-that is not the current topic! This seemed like actually something that could be explained by damage to her head and I just was making suggestions from what I read, okay?" Patchouli explained.

"Okay. Eirin needs to make sure she's okay **before** she tires anything, understood?"

"I'm not dumb."

Yukari simply shrugged and left via gap.

 _What a mess..._

* * *

 **Group fox and co**

Ran lead her two assistants to Alice's home, the house still among the trees, door closed. Ran walked up to it and attempted to open it, finding it locked.

"Hmm, we need to find a way inside." Ran sighed, Seija walking up to it.

"Nah, that'll take to long, we just need to be direct." she scoffed, leaning on the wall next to it.

"How?" Kagerou asked, already guessing the solution.

"Simple, first, ya get a blunt instrument." with a brief flash, she summoned a yellow mallet "And you beat the s**t out of it." Seija slammed the mallet into the door's handle, caving in the metal and damaging the lock.

She smashed it again, knocking the mechanism through to the other side, the force loosening the hinges as well. She pushed the door open, smiling. Before the door fell off the hinges, slamming onto the floor.

"Ta da…" she gestured to the vandalised entrance.

"It works." Ran shrugged walking in.

Kagerou walked over and snatched the mallet.

"Is this the thing Shinmyoumaru wanted back?"

"Yeah, it's got some of the miracle mallet's magic in it. It's been leaking for months though, used to have half, now, ehh 20%." she explained grabbing it back.

"If you gave that back the wanted notice might go away you know?" Kagerou suggested walking into the house.

"But then how would I destroy stray bullets?" Seija fake whined.

"Dodge'em."

Ran walked into the living room, finding it slightly disturbed. Two used cups on the table. Several dolls on the floor. She looked to the kitchen. More dolls lay on the floor, although some were destroyed. One looked like it was impaled, a hole in the metal of the stove. The fire was still burning, a metal kettle having gone red hot, long since run out of water. Dry, black ichor stained the pale clay tiles. As she exclaimed it, Kagerou walked in, switching the heat off and removing the kettle via very warm handle. She picked up the doll, the poor thing near bisected by a hole through the torso.

"Well, guess she was here." she commented walking over to a fridge, opening it.

A magic crystal leaking cold air was stuck to the side. Ran rubbed the ichor between two fingers. It was crumbly, and lacked magic. It wasn't a portal remnant. She glanced over to the counter. A piece of paper was sitting on it, a pencil on the ground. She grabbed the page.

 _Dear Eirin,_

 _I recently had a youkai guest in my home, having found her deep within the forest. I'd never seen her before, but she looked tense. I brought her home and gave her tea. She appears to have something that may be yours. Some medical report called hemo-_ Ran read the note in her head and stopped as the sudden vertical line down the page.

Alice was interrupted while writing, most likely when she was poisoned. She planned to let Kageshō go and report her to Eientei. A decent idea, ruined by the youkai. Kagerou wandered over.

"Clue?"

"Not really. She was going to let her leave and tell Eirin about a report, most likely stolen from Eientei. She never finished, attacked before she could." Ran rubbed her chin.

"Yo, what the f**k's dettol?" Seija yelled sticking her head in with a bottle.

Ran grabbed the bottle of orange fluid. It was written in English.

"A disinfectant from what is printed her."

"Was Alice treating her?" Kagerou pondered.

"Well, she had a dolly in nurse crap and bandages." Seija held them up in her other hand.

"So she attacked her and poisoned her while she was receiving aid." Ran walked into the living room "Is there anything else."

"Destroyed dolls, running kettle, note."

"Disinfectant, bandages, nurse stuff." the two counted off.

Ran summoned a ball of light and punched the wall, scanning for any rifts or remnants that refused to light up. Nothing. It was a dead end. Kageshō may have simply walked out of the house. There was no hints to point in a direction to continue in. She needed to find a new way to follow her. But first, night was approaching, and she had made some progress. She should give Yukari or Chen a progress report, then come back to continue. She wasn't finding her soon. So it was time to get rid of the tagalongs. They'd been some use. But the more she thought of a conflict between herself and the youkai, the more she thought the two would interfere. Better to drop them now.

"Well, I need to go give a report to Yukari, and then I will continue this alone. Thank you for the help, but this really doesn't involve you, and I'd prefer if you two didn't get hurt." Ran stated to the two.

"Really? Well then, I believe I should-freedom b**th!" Seija yelled running off, Kagerou turning to her.

"What?! No, come back we can't just leave, Seija! This involves you, she literally murdered you!" she ran after her, the two leaving Ran alone.

"Good, her want to leave is a perfect distraction." Ran left the house and flew past the tree roof and sped off.

* * *

Seija ran for it, the fox said she was free, so she was running for it. Escape the wolf and she's golden. The trees were thick enough to let her slip away scot free with a bit of dodging. So she ran, ducking between trees and the rare bush, Kagerou yelling after her. Really? Come on, just let it go, then the both of them wouldn't have to deal with each other. She wouldn't have to be thrown through portals and the wolf didn't have to watch her. She probably still wanted the bounty, plus the miracle mallet's remaining magic. Well, she wasn't tripping again, she was avoiding all foot snags so she could finally not have to deal with that annoying-

She ran face first into a tree, stupidly not looking in front of her. The wooden sentinel shook from the impact, something falling down with a scream. Seija stood up and shook her head, a bit dazed. She looked over to the fallen thing, now clearly a person. Great, now she had to deal with someone while running from the wolf oh F**KING GODS NO! Seija jumped back, the midnight haired girl locking onto the person who knocked her down, her face twitching in annoyance. She was glaring.

"YOU! I thought I killed you!" Kageshō yelled, rage on her face "Can I go 10 minutes without running into something that pisses me off! The cave, you! The weird classroom, humans everywhere outside! The forest, what I thought an empty house. There is literally nothing near here, no one for miles and yet you somehow ran into my bloody tree!" her tail reared up, the bandaged appendage twitching.

 _Hey, I was right, she did get treated._ Seija whispered in her head.

"Hey, blood thief, I was just running away from someone and lucky me found you. Calm your tits." Seija shrugged, somewhat worried about the situation she was in.

"What the, how do you know about that!"

"Forced to help track you, trail went cold in the puppet house, this was an accident. Although you do have several people out to rip your head off because of the vampiric shrine girl."

"Seija come back here!" Kagerou called as she jumped from a tree grabbing her "Where were you going?" she asked with a smile.

"Away from you! Also, by the way, that's Kageshō." Seija pointed at the youkai, hoping to distract her.

"You're kidding me." she deadpanned, a shadowy tendril rising into view "Not kidding!" she pushed Seija to the side and jumped back, the spiked construct digging into the ground.

"I'm sick to death of everyone trying to get in my way for stupid reasons!" Kageshō pulled her arm back, before firing off a large black ball of energy, which fractured into thousands of bullets.

The magic tore up ground and trees, a moving wall of death. Seija jumped behind a tree with Kagerou, backing away from the falling wood as it was destroyed, the bullets spreading out enough for them to dodge around the remaining ones. Kageshō opened a gap and ran for it. Seija pulled out her mallet.

"Yeah, nope!" she threw it full force at the shadow youkai, who turned in time to see a speeding yellow hammer.

She smirked and fired a powerful beam at it, and froze as the mallet continued through it, dispersing the magic before creaming her in the face, knocking her back. She satchel fell off her shoulder as she dropped the paper she was holding. Kagerou began running for it, Kageshō jumping back to her feet, spotting the dropped items. She sprinted towards it, firing off several bullets as Kagerou reached for them. Seija snapped her fingers, an inversion of colours echoing out from them. Kagerou and Kageshō, flipped places as though swapping with a mirror's reflection 180 degrees. This resulted in Kageshō being next to her satchel, which made her smile...until her own bullets hit her square in the stomach, blasting her back and burning her polo shirt. Seija then proceeded to punch her directly in the spine as she passed, ending her movement with a painful crack. Kagerou ran back to the satchel and pages, picking up the stapled report. Seija grabbed the bag and opened it. Inside was a knife, a bag of red liquid and a ⅔ full syringe. Lovely.

"Hah ha, got your s**t!" Seija taunted as the youkai rose, the construct from before rising up as well.

"Why is it so hard to just read and make plans!" she cried, a mist leaking out of her arms.

Seija grabbed her mallet.

"Cuz you're going evil crap. Come on, even I knew stuff would've gone down if my plans went through."

"Yes, why even do all this? What can poisoning and vampire making do for you?" Kagerou asked as she readied herself to move.

"It's my plan, I don't have to explain it to you!" she summoned another tendril and charged them, a glyph on both hands launching a hail of magic as the constructs surged forward. Kagerou dodged to the right and fired her own magic into the curtain, blowing a hole in it and jumped through. Seija deflected the tendril with a mallet swing, shattering the spike and swiped away bullets, exposing a pouncing youkai. She ducked under the swing and dodged forward through the gap, Kageshō chasing. Seija fired her own attack, the fast bullets slowing the shadow girl but not really hurting her. She jumped over her, flipping over her head a second time as Kageshō grabbed at her. Her tail aimed and stabbed at her, but narrowly avoided it.

"Stay still!" a miasma flowed off Kageshō's limbs as she turned.

Seija smiled and moved, but found the mist was clinging to her, slowing her movement. The youkai gave a mad smile and charged another attack, but was launched to the side by a bullet to the head. She still unleashed the attack, a dark beam that cut a tree in half. Seija laughed as she sensed something. She turned to she a tendril aiming for her.

"S**T!" she stumbled back and tripped on a root, the mist still slowing her.

She dropped the bag she was holding. The spike missed her barely, stabbing the space between her legs. A wet sensation reached her after a second.

" _Crap, did I piss myself?!"_ she feared internally.

Then she spotted the red. Seija crawled back and spotted what happened. It had missed her. It hadn't missed the satchel. The bag was pierced through the middle, blood gushing out of the hole. As it pulled back, Seija grabbing the satchel and used bullets to damage the tentacle. She poured the remaining blood out, the red staining the grassy dirt before the burst bag and unharmed syringe flowed out. She picked it up.

Kagerou slashed at the girl with claws, Kageshō dodging them with a little trouble. She was so close that any magic attacks the shadowy youkai tried to use would either be stopped, or miss. Kagerou didn't mind this situation, was easy to keep her on her toes, a smile on her lips. If she tired her out, herself and Seija could easily bring her back. And with the promise of possible acquittal she was planning to suggest to the horned girl if she helped, things looked good. Other ball of magic, one she avoided by staying in her face. It was more a brawl then a duel. Fun.

"Hey, umm, the blood's mostly gone." Seija announced holding the syringe and damaged blood bag.

Kageshō glanced over and stopped, teeth grit. They. Were. Ruining. EVERYTHING! She ducked a slash and hooked her tail around Kagerou's foot, tripping her. She ran at Seija as Kagerou rolled away from the tendril.

"Give me that!" she yelled as Seija jumped into the air, sticking her tongue out.

"What's wrong, getting those black panties in a twist." she sneered, a grin on her face as she landed in a tree, spinning the syringe "And a one, and a two, and a one two three crunch." Seija held the glass syringe in her palm and smashed it into the tree, only to find it phase into it.

She turned to the wood and saw her arm swallowed by a portal. She looked down at Kageshō, a smile on her face. Her hand, was next to her. S**t.

Kageshō grabbed the syringe and pried it free, before stabbing Seija's hand. She pulled it back with loud yelp as Kageshō injected a third of it into her hand, Seija rubbing the point and waving it wildly.

"OW! Motherf**k, that hurt!" she swore as she glanced at the injection point.

It was a black mark on her palm, before it slowly started spreading.

"Oh gods this a bad thing probably!" she cried as Kageshō laughed, amused by Seija's reaction.

She stopped though as she got a sudden stabbing pain in the back.

She twisted around to see Kagerou digging claws into her lower back. She tore out a chunk on flesh, a blood spray staining hands and arms, throwing her forward. She smashed into a tree as Kagerou unleashed a torrent of bullets. Kageshō pulled up a barrier, dark seemingly pulled from her surroundings. It cracked from the unrestrained attack. She then heard something falling. Kageshō looked up at Seija, who was falling. She released a pulse of magic, spinning and delivered a downward kick to her head, flooring her. Her tail whipped around and stabbed Seija's leg, using it to throw her away. She collided with Kagerou and the two slid along the dirt. The youkai rose to her feet.

"Achh! My back, my head! You assholes! I'm done with this crap!" she spawned a third tendril in front of her, before ripping open a gap and fleeing into it, the two damaged shadow creations joining it and blocking the hole.

"Gods damn it, get back here b**-b**th!" Seija gasped, a dazing numb distracting her.

She staggered and fell to her knees, her hand a mix of numb and burning. It felt like someone had set her blood ablaze. It was even distracting her from her leg wound.

"The h-he-he-balck!?" she suddenly lurched forward, vomiting up a small amount of black ichor.

"Seija?!" Kagerou lent down "What's wrong?"

Seija examined her hand, Kagerou grimacing. Her palm was already a dark purple, with the center a black void. A vein was blue and popping up.

"Is that the vampire poisoning?"

"How w-would I k-know." Seija stammered, a pain creeping up her arm.

She started to feel a bit worse, before a sudden wave of nausea hit her. She coughed up more liquid, clutching her stomach as it leaked from her mouth.

"Damn it, it hurts…" she complained, gasping in air.

Breathing felt...wrong. That was bad.

"Hey, we have to get you to Eientei." Kagerou grabbed her and helped her stand.

"C-Can't. The rabbit said I was b-banned…" she whispered, shaking.

Was it cold? She felt cold. She felt like her body was freezing.

"Hey, if we bring this and tell'em you got most of the blood destroyed, they'll let you in." she reassured, holding up the report.

"Why are you even helping me…?"

"Because...if you die, I can't get my reward." she lied, smiling.

"L-Lier…" Seija lost her footing, Kagerou catching her.

The black/purple had consumed her hand.

"Come on, we have to go!" she announced, dragging her away as fast as she could.

As bad she Seija was, poisoned to death was not something she deserved, especially since Kagerou had plans to attempted to get Seija be a part of Gensokyo instead of an outcast. Plus, teasing and dragging her around was fun.

* * *

 **Sky, kitsune airway**

Ran flew through the air at speed, making a beeline for her home. She needed to report in to Yukari or Chen, before going back and having a closer look of the surrounding area, without the two tagalongs. She got Kagerou wanted to help and Seija was useful, but they really were not involved, so it would be better to go searching alone. Well, okay Seija was involved, but that girl might take it too far, or choose to run at a bad time. Remove the elements and the problems fade. It was a good enough reason. She quickly approached her house. Another thing about the two, Seija dragging her heels and Kagerou's normal movement speed was slowing her down. So yeah, getting them to stop following her continued to give good reasons. She landed at the raised front porch, noticing the door was ajar slightly. Chen, how many times must you be told to keep it shut. As Ran walked up the wooden steps, a tearing sound made her turn. Yukari stepped out of a gap, noticing her and frowning.

"Ran, after your update I must tell you something." she said, face unchanging.

Yukari was serious. First she wanted to shout 'great, now what?' But Yukari was rarely visibly serious.

"What's wrong Lady Yukari?"

"The report first."

"(Sigh) I arrived at the cave and met Seija and the wolf Kagerou. After a bit of questioning, I found remnants of the portal and we used Seija as a guinea pig to see where it went. Kagerou came along and Seija was dragged too. It went to that Rinnosuko's shop, than human school and than we learned of Alice being attacked possible by the youkai so went to her home. The trail stopped there, but I wish to return and look again soon. I broke our 'party' up because the more I thought about it the more I believed they would be a hindrance. You also never said it was Hakurei that was vampired." Ran explained.

"Hmm, I see. And yes, sorry about that, I didn't think it important. And better to be rid of those two. Kagerou may of helped but that Seija is a nuisance hanging onto her right to be here by a thread."

"What did you want to say?" Ran asked.

"Mmm...yes. First off, your room is thrashed." Ran groaned.

Great, something to fix later.

"And Chen." her expression darkened "It appears that youkai was here, thinking no one here. Chen confronted her. I don't know the full details-" Ran's face dropped and sprinted into the house, Yukari following.

Ran threw open Chen's door, seeing no one and ran to her room. It was destroyed, but empty.

"Where is she!?"

"Eientei. Sanae found her hurt and brought her there. It looked nasty."

"I'm going." Ran ran out of the door.

"Ran wait-" "NO! She's hurt, I left her alone. I'm going to her now, I don't care what you have to say Yukari, punish me later!" she boosted into the air, leaving her master in the dust.

Yukari opened a gap, one ripping open on Ran's back.

"I was going to say you can continue looking tomorrow and go to Chen." she spoke sticking her upper body through it.

Ran tensed before sighing.

"Sorry…"

"There's no need for that, just be back by 10am tomorrow."

Ran nodded as Yukari retreated, rubbing her temple.

 _I'll have a quick look at Alice's and see if the fairies are back, then I think it's bed for me. No one to wake me tomorrow, so an early night is required._ She thought entering a gap.

* * *

 **Outside the manor**

Sanae walked along the path towards the Scarlet's mansion, not really thinking of anything as she walked. Reimu was either there or they knew were she was. This sounded serious though, and with Marisa and her nose out of the fight she probably needed help. She had a habit of not looking for help, only accepting it if someone came along and offered. So she'd probably like an extra set of hands. She passed the lake and heard someone chattering away, spotting Cirno talking to a green haired fairy on an ice float she'd probably made. Cirno failed to notice her as she left the lake, walking up the path to the manor. The guard woman might not let her in actually. Sanae realised that as she wandered through the trees. Well, explain the situation and boom, she's in most likely. Sanae continued and came out of the tree line, the mansion standing in front of her, the brick wall standing proud around it. And the gate, was open. Kinda? It was open, but Meiling was trying to close it, messing with the metal lock. It looked damaged, the main lock dented and the gate off axis. Meiling turned as she approached.

"Hello, and welcome to the gate's messed up to high heaven and my arm hurts, how are you." she sighed leaning against the wall.

"What happened?"

"A white haired immortal happened."

"Oh...umm...Maku?" Sanae asked, forgetting if the name was right.

"Something like that. What do you need." Meiling shrugged.

"Is Reimu here? I heard she was looking after or tracking something to do with vampires." Sanae asked.

"Tch, ahh. I mean, she's technically **with** the vampire…" Meiling rubbed her neck, unsure if she should correct her.

"Well, I wish to help my fellow shrine maiden, especially with Marisa unable to come and help."

"Well, I guess a shrine girl should be kept abreast with the situation. But you should talk to Reimu about it." Meiling spoke as she pushed open the gate, the thing falling off the wall "...Damn it. And if Reimu or Lady Remilia wants you gone, you have to leave, got it?"

Sanae nodded and walked over the gate, near tripping.

"The latch is busted too, there should be a fairy there to help when you get in!" Meiling called after her.

Sanae pushed the door open and stepped in, noticing indeed, the latch was snapped. A crimson haired and winged fairy sat on a chair by the door, kicking her feet in her maid uniform, before noticing Sanae. She flew over.

"Hi there. Why are you here?" she asked.

"Hi, I want to talk to Reimu if possible."

The fairy nodded.

"Nmm, so the new girl. She's ehh...somewhere…" the fairy swallowed, nervous.

"Don't worry, if she's here, we'll find her." she smiled, the fairy relaxing.

The two walked off into the many halls of the mansion. The fairy started hovering along after a minute, looking around.

"If we find Miss Sakuya, she'll be able to show you better." she commented as she flew, leading her to the dining room "She might be making dinner, or some of the others might be making it. She's been busy fixing stuff.

"Did something happen?"

"The new girl blew up two rooms and hurt a wall and needed something sewed. It's a mess."

"New girl, you mean Reimu? Why would she do that?"

"Cuz she's a new vampire person and keeps blowing up stuff like Lady Flandre." the fairy answered.

Sanae's mind stopped. She heard wrong. She had to have heard wrong. Reimu was human, not vampire. This wasn't some fan story people in her highschool used to write for anime and mange. She stopped the train of thought. Get to Reimu, ask a question, problem solved. She followed after the fairy, who lead her to a double door, although they didn't enter, instead stopping at Sakuya, who was busy painting over a blank piece of wall. She had something under her arms, an outfit. She glanced at them and returned to painting.

"Sanae, what is it you need? You never visit Lady Remilia or Lady Patchouli."

"No, I heard Reimu was here and there was a problem with a vampire, so I thought I could come help her figure out the incident." Sanae explained.

"It sounds like you have the story a bit wrong. Not completely, but I'm not sure if Reimu will want to see you."

"Why?"

Sakuya put the brush down, finished.

"You may leave." she pointed to the fairy, who left "What do you know?" Sakuya asked as she clicked something in her pocket, disappeared in a slight distortion and reappeared after a second, the painting equipment gone.

"Umm, Maku-" "Mokou" "Mokou showed up at Eientei a bit after Reisen ran in and said something about a vampire and Reimu. There was something taken from Eientei and well, that's about it." she smiled with a shrug.

"So you ran forward and came here with that little information? You should stop that. The situation is complicated."

"Well bring me to her and bam, I get told the situation!"

"She didn't really take Keine appearing very well." Sakuya mumbled "But she's…'closer' to Sanae then her…" she finished "I'll return shortly."

Sakuya walked away and vanished. As she did, Sanae realised what was under her arm.

"Wait, was that Reimu's outfit."

* * *

 **Eientei**

Marisa continued to grind up leaves as Eirin tended to Alice. She was the acting Reisen it appears. Not that it mattered really, helping was letting Eirin focus on Alice and otherwise she'd be sitting it bed and looking after Aya. So grinding up crap and letting Clown handle the reporter? Better gig in her eyes. After she finished the dock and as she reached for the sage one, Reisen came back with Kaguya, both holding multiple glass containers, a few bags and...a little tree...what?

"We have the stuff." Reisen announced placing them down.

Kaguya followed and put her tree down, unnaturally hot pink and golden leaves sitting on it's branches. Marisa pointed at it.

"What'z that?"

"Have you heard of lunar udonge?" she asked, Marisa nodding "Well, this is a young tree I like to keep unjewel. Although once a year I relax and let it bloom its leaves, which last as long as I please. They are a rare sight, for they require impurity to sprout but too much leads to their death and the jewels blooming instead. Is it not pretty?" she explained with a smile.

"Yeah, never zeen'em grow leavez lik' that."

"We aren't using that version of the cure Kaguya." Eirin commented without looking.

"I know, but if required, is it not better to have it here? And you may wish to make the strongest one at some point."

Eirin only hummed and grabbed the report, glancing at the process. She started to remember making this 50 years ago, the constant failed versions of various doses. She grabbed a syringe and mixed some of what Marisa had mashed up and reached for a jar.

Marisa looked on in amazement as Eirin got to work, rapidly concocting the medicine. It was impressive at the speed she worked at once she got going. As everything seemed to calm down, she noticed a dull pain flaring in her nose. The whole Alice thing had blocked it out. Marisa backed away and wandered into the patient room, grabbing the bottle Eirin had left for her. She read the side and drank the sour liquid, shaking at the vile tang. She looked over at the others. Aya was asleep, pencil and notebook sitting on the bed. Clownpiece had slumped back, asleep too. It was probably getting a bit late and the fairy looked disheveled and tired. Not used to the tense atmosphere. And then there was Chen. She was lying down, eyes closed but clearly awake from the sudden jerks and moans. Marisa walked over.

"Heya kid, you okay?" she whispered standing beside her.

"Nmmm...my leg still hurts, the gooey stuff didn't make it stop, just make it less bad…" she whined.

Marisa smiled as Chen sat up. She looked tired and her eyes looked puffy. She fidgeted as she rubbing her eyes.

"You wanna have a littl' zleep over?" leaned in, holding her.

Chen latched onto her, tears coming back.

 _Jeez, she's trembling. Whoever did this shook her up pretty bad._ Marisa thought as she lay the cat girl down, lying herself.

"D-Don't go…"

"Hey, I can't go with you' clawz in me clothez. Juzt relax."

Chen nodded and hugged into Marisa, effectively trapping her there.

 _I'm no Ran or hag, but hopefully it makes her feel better._

After a minute, Chen's breathing slowed and her grip weakened. Marisa rubbed her head.

"Zleep tight…" she closed her eyes.

* * *

 **Outside**

Kagerou was all but carrying Seija by the time they entered the bamboo forest. Seija had been complaining the whole way, stumbling along, trying to walk properly, but had given up and was just trying to not drag her feet. The poison had corrupted her arm down past her elbow, and was fast growing. The blood loss from her leg was not helping matters. Kagerou knew mostly how to get to Eientei, she'd either get to the entrance, or the back. A common mistake for everyone except for the rabbits or Mokou.

"Seija, please try helping, it's getting harder to move you." Kagerou pleaded.

The amanojaku laughed weakly.

"Wolf, I lost f-feeling in my feet five minutes a-ago, they're doing their o-own s-s**t." she replied as a whisper, clearing not all there.

Kagerou ran as fast as she could, soon realising she was losing herself in the tall stalks.

"Gods damn it go away!" she shouted, cutting down some of the thick greenery, her fingers twitching in pain from cutting the hard wood-like bamboo.

She carved a path for a short while before finding several cut down stalks. Someone had gone wrong and cut their way through. A miracle. She sped along the make shift path, coming to the back of the building. She threw the limp Seija up and jumped after her, flying slightly and landing on the roof. She caught her and carried her to the front, boots clattering along the roof. She jumped and landed at the front, banging on the door. After a few seconds, a rabbit opened the door.

"Y-Yes?" she asked, nervous.

"We need Eirin now!"

"She's real busy…"

"She's dying, I don't care!" Kagerou yelled, the poor rabbit flinching back.

"O-Okay." she turned and ran in, Kagerou chasing her.

They reached the surgery in a minute, Kagerou kicking the door open, making the three people on the other side jump.

"Help, please!" she yelled, holding Seija.

Eirin opened her mouth, scowling, before noticing Seija's arm.

"Oh no…"

* * *

AN: That fight scene was near 3000 words or something, it's near half the chapter.

So, this was actually longer still, but the next chapter was going to be a bit short with what I wanted to have in it so I moved some stuff over to it, sorry.

So yeah, little fight over blood was fought. Had that planned for a bit. And the other main part I want to talk about is the start of the chapter. That whole scene was a slight mess because I've several different versions of how Copy Vemiu (amazing name I know) plays and will play out and this is the one that I went for as the characters guessing. Some versions were weirder. Or down right idiotic. What's really going on will be explained, in time. At some point. I promise.

Pm, review, this is a lot longer of a chapter then I thought it would be.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Day's end

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

Eirin marched over and grabbed Seija, examining her hand and arm. She opened her eyes.

"H-Hi doc, we f-found the t-thief. B-Bloods gone." she stuttered, giving a smug smile "As p-payment, stop me f-from dying, thanks…"

Eirin placed her down and grabbed a syringe, sucking up some of the suppressant she had made earlier.

"What does she mean?" she turned to Kagerou.

"Me, Seija and Ran were looking for Kageshō, the youkai that stole the blood. Ran ran off to report to Yukari, Seija ran away because I was kind of forcing her to help and she accidentally sprinted into a tree that Kageshō was hiding it. We destroyed a blood bag and got this." Kagerou held up the medical report, the front and back page stained with blood from her hands.

Reisen grabbed it off her, cringing.

"You got blood all over it!"

"Well sorry! I sliced open Kageshō's back and got blood on me. Seija was poisoned and she couldn't hold it. What was supposed to do? 'Seija, hold on a sec I gotta wash my claws.'" Kagerou shot back, scowling.

"Reisen, is it legible?"

"Uhh." she flicked through it "The front page is ruined and the final page needs a bit of staring to read it."

"Than it's fine. They retrieve it, so we should be happy." Kaguya smiled.

"Yeah, d-don't be a d-dick." Seija added.

"Please don't talk. If you had come alone and without ridding us of that blood I'd be liable to throw you out the window." Eirin ordered "Reisen, how is the antidote doing?"

"Oh, umm. The second most powerful is mostly done, it's just boiling. In ten minutes it will be cooked and cooled."

"You're already making the cure?"

"Yes, this one will be given to the puppeteer for her condition is worse. A second can be made for her." Kaguya explained.

"And hopefully it's powerful enough to cure this. If not, we may need to resort to the vampire cure itself."

"Also, m-my leg is b-bleeding." Seija pointed out.

Eirin glanced at her leg and noticed the hole. She grabbed a bandage and disinfectant.

"After I'm done I'll need blood." she spoke at Kagerou, who froze.

"What?"

"This poison destroys blood, so she would need some anyway, but the wound makes it vital she gets some, you're the only health youkai here. Alice has taken most of the blood I got from Yukari." Eirin stated as she treated the wound, bandaging it and grabbing a bag and needle.

"I guess I haven't a choice."

"No, y-you don't!" Seija yelled, pointing at her.

* * *

 **~10 minutes later~**

Kagerou sat on a chair in the patient's room, rocking back and forth with vacant stare. Eirin took near two litres of blood from her, and she felt a little dizzy. She was finding it hard to think straight. Relax, Seija needed it, she'll be fine. Why is there a black hole in the center of the room though? Oh right, her vision's going funky. Heh he...funky's a funny word. She completely failed to notice the slam coming from the next room as she got a dopey smile on her face.

Ran burst into the room, panic on her face, as the three working all jumped, again.

"Eirin, where's Chen?!"

"She's in the patient room, please be quiet though, she may be asleep."

Ran failed to notice Seija, who's arm had been near engulfed by the purple, the black only to her wrist. She opened the door and spotted Chen, asleep in a bed, Marisa next to her. She ran over and knelt down. Her face was shifting in discomfort, but she looked somewhat at peace. She was clutching onto Marisa. She sighed.

 _Thank you witch._

She looked around the room, spotting Kagerou, who was waving.

"Hi Ran, me and Seija fought the youkai." she smiled, clearly out of it.

"What?" she walked over "You fought the youkai? Do you mean Kageshō?!" she whispered.

"Yeah, after you left, Seija ran away and into a tree. Kageshō fell out and was super pissed off, so we fought her. She really doesn't like the spell rules, so we went a little overboard. Oh, ehh, this is her blood by the way." she held up her arms "We got the report back and split the bag blood."

Ran nodded, peeling some of the blood off her arms, wrapping it in magic. Useful for later.

"Are you okay?"

"Ummhumm, Seija got poisoned but Eirin's using magic medicine to fix it. She needed blood though so she took like 2 litres and now I feel funky." she gave a thumbs up as she slowly slid out of her chair, Ran catching her and putting her back.

Kagerou then proceeded to faint, a soft snoring escaping her. Ran sighed. Not the most detailed information, but still useful. Now, as she waits here, she has something to do. Ran returned to Chen's bed and sat on a chair. She held the magic and blood and drew a circle around it in the air. Holding the circled blood and ball in one hand, she started drawing and writing around it. Why sit around fretting alone when you can fret and make a locating spell keyed to find the youkai's split blood? Multitasking is key for her job.

Eirin sighed as she grabbed the vial of liquid. The glass and gel-like fluid had cooled and it was time to test it. Reisen was making more, so half for each. If it works well, then the next batch should begin detoxing their bodies. If not, then it most certainly will weaken and give them more time. Especially Alice. Seija is hardy, the poison not affecting her as badly, but Alice was suffering. What was also helping most likely was that Seija was infected not very long ago, while Alice was inflected at least 2-3 hours ago, maybe. She sucked up some gel and injected it into Alice's neck, before using a second to infect Seija's hand, who flinched at the prick.

"Oww, that hurt." she complained.

"Be happy that girl brought you here." Eirin snapped as Seija's face twitched.

"No, seriously, o-ow...that hurts a-a lot. I couldn't feel my hand earlier."

There was a minor reaction from Alice, her neck losing the black stain and going purple, slowly spreading out. Seija's was the same, the black skin fading to purple.

"Well that is a good sign." Kaguya commented.

It stopped after a minute, before Seija's purpled skin reseeded an inch before stopping.

"Okay, the fiery blood had stopped earlier and now is back, like really bad. O-OWWW!" she moaned, grabbing her arm "I can feel my hand again and it is painful!"

"It looks like it's working decently for Seija, but not Alice." Reisen commented.

Eirin looked at Alice. She was right. Only patches of black had really faded from Alice, her scapula were still darkened and it wasn't lessening. Just grinding to a halt. So, making more of this version will hopefully work and cure Seija, but Alice, needs something stronger.

"Reisen, finish making this version of the cure, one dosage." she opened the patient room door.

The wolf, fairy and Marisa were asleep. Ran was working on some spell. She waved at her, the kitsune looking up.

"Come here." Ran exited the room "Myself and Kaguya need to make the strongest version of the cure. We will be gone for a few minutes. Reisen is busy, please look after these two until we get back."

Ran rolled her eyes and sat in a chair, placing the spell beside her. She stared at the two as one hand continued writing. Eirin grabbed the tree and left, Kaguya following. Time for some blood letting.

* * *

 **Alice's home**

Yukari stepped out of a gap, looking around. Ran wished to have another look around this place. But with Chen on her mind, it would be better for someone else to search around. A worried mind is a clouded mind. Alice's home was in slight disarray, like Ran reported. Yukari stepped into the kitchen, picking up a note. The one Alice wrote and never finished. Same as the report. She turned and walked over to the front door, stepping over the fallen wood. The door handle had been beaten in.

"I'm guessing Seija."

She looked around out into the forest. Kageshō must have run off. The problem is, which direction? She scanned the ground. The forest floor was soft and dirty. There were two sets of footprints going off east. Ran's helpers most likely

 _Hmm, I can see why this is a dead end. 360 degrees of possible fleeing and no footprints._

But if she walked or ran, there would be a trace, a change in the ground. So, time for a little manipulation. Trodden and untrodden. A bit abstract...just how she liked it. With a simple pulse, Yukari manipulated a boundary. The soft, lightly grassed dirt within 20 metres of the house suddenly flattened as though trampled by an invisible hoard, comparing into hard dirt. At the same time, the visible footprints popped up, the soft soil rolling over the hardened ground, exposing two sets of prints. Yukari scanned the ground. And there she spotted it. Barely raised dirt, nearly the same as the rest of the forest floor. Her steps were light it seemed. Yukari walked over to them and followed the prints, flattening dirt as she went, creating an earthen path. It didn't take long for her to reach a tree, a black smear marring its trunk. She smiled.

"I would think you could try and hide yourself." she reached out as she pulled off her glove.

She grabbed the goo and ripped off a chunk, throwing it into a gap. The eyes blinked a few times before she stepped into it.

Yukari exited into a lightly wooded area. Glancing around, she noticed it seemed...familiar. Then she noticed the corner of a house. Walking over, she facepalmed. It was the only responds suitable. She was behind her own home. Of course she was. The youkai had come here and hurt Chen. She sighed, rubbing her temple. She didn't want to admit it, but Chen getting injured had shaken her...slightly, distracting her enough to allow her to make this stupid mistake. A big waste of time. But now she was here and thinking straight again, she remembered. Kageshō must have left their home. She wasn't there. That portal the tendril was in was closed and most certainly untraceable, but if she left through a different one, then maybe…

Yukari walked around her house, scanning the outside and the woods. Nothing on the porch, nothing on the walls. The large cherry tree in the center of their garden was untouched and the laundry was flapping free and needed to be brought in. Another time. Yukari stepped into the house and looked around. She wasn't looking for Chen's attacker or Ran wasn't running around panicked distracting her. Speaking of, Ran reacting like that was new. She liked it, showed she had more to her than wander, work, rest and snark. She opened a broom closet next to the backdoor, stopping at the smear. She hid in here before leaving. Another chunk was ripped off and thrown into a gap. A nice little trail. Stepping into it, she exited into the forest of magic again, on a branch.

"Hmm, now then, where next?" she questioned.

Yukari hopped out of the tree, stopping short of the ground, hovering about the dirt. The area was damaged. A few trees felled, the ground was torn up with small holes and finally, the large amount of blood. Yukari floated over to unstained dirt and landed next to the large pool. At its centre was a blood bag, stabbed by something along with a satchel. A tree a bit away had a blood spray as well as three tendrils blocking a smear. She smiled.

 _She fought someone here_

The tendrils reacted to her, turning to face her. Three gaps opened and fired out lasers, destroying them effortlessly. No need for distractions. But as she approached, she sensed something. Spinning on her heels, Yukari turned and backhanded a bullet, the fast projectile deflecting off her hand and bursting into sparks as it hit a tree. A single hand was sticking out of a tree via shadows. Then there was a loud bang as a tree fell over. She turned back to find the tree had been cut in two, the smear destroyed. A final gap opened on the trees remains.

"Who the f**k is messing with my-oh gods nope!" Kageshō stuck her head out of her portal and paled as she saw Yukari, retreating.

A tendril escaped the hole as two more opened, firing out shots. Yukari sidestepped them, smirking.

"I was wondering what the weird feeling was, it was you violating my shadowsteps. It feels like someone crawling under my skin everything someone messes with them! So how about this gap b**th, I destroy my remnants and make sure I don't leave any, and you kindly piss off." Kageshō voice escaped the tendril before an orb squeezed out of it.

The two small gaps detonated as the spiked tentacle attacked, Yukari destroying it with a single blast before it reached her, the head blown off by a single shot. A small explosion rung through the air as the orb fell and removed the final smear as the tendril fell, blown apart by the orb.

Yukari stared at the tree trunk for a minute, before shrugging.

"Huh, well, I did say she should stop leaving trails." she joked, a smile veiling annoyance.

So now the trail really does go cold. But Gensokyo is not infinite. She'll be found. Someone already did it seemed. Now, one final stop before bed. Yukari, for the 61st time today, opened a gap and stepped in.

Her final stop, the Hakurei shrine. If the fairies are there, good, a simple check in. If not, then another thing to track down tomorrow. But of course, a quiet chatter filled the air as she walked out from behind the storehouse. The three fairies of light sounded somewhat subdued, talking of nothing important. Than Luna noticed Yukari.

"Gap lady…" she whispered, causing the two others to turn.

"My, the three of you seem down, did something happen? You were not here earlier." Yukari asked as she approached.

"Umm, the puppet girl showed up and we had to bring her to the village. Then we had to wait there for the teacher lady and the humans were yelling at us saying we were diseased and and…" Star explained, wringing her hands.

"And then that fox lady that hangs around you showed up with the mean cookie stealer and a wolf girl and said Reimu was a vampire. Teacher lady said not to worry but we don't know what to do. Something weird's going on and everything feels off." Sunny finished.

Yukari sighed. Ran let the fairies know. That was a terrible idea. They were liable to either spin in a circle confused attempting to figure it out something or spread the truth like a wildfire in an attempt to get answers.

"Well, it is true that Reimu has had a little run in with vampirism, but I know several people are currently working to solve this 'incident'."

It really wasn't an incident. This was going to have a larger, harder to reverse effect on Gensokyo.

"All I need the three of you to do is keep this shrine nice and clean. Like I said to you all earlier, this is all being worked out and it would be nice for Reimu to return to a nice clean home."

"Are we going to have to be Reimu's fairy maids?" Star asked.

"If you want to be."

The three looked at each other before all shaking their heads, Luna the weakest. That trip to the Scarlets had been enough.

"Anyway, thank you for minding the shrine." Yukari smiled, gapping away to her home to sleep til morning.

Luna looked at the two fairies.

"I kinda liked the maid outf-"

"No."

* * *

 **Library**

Reimu was currently having a micro panic attack. Despite Flandre tugging and chatting away, that whole brain thing was scaring her. She hated this. She's always been good at expressing her severe emotions alone or with Marisa, and all other emotions kind of sprinkled out and around the others every once and awhile. But today was a day of fear, anger, visible annoyance, worry. That whole thing was not true, she would know if that was happening. When she sees Copy next, she's getting as many answers as possible, not matter what. No 'can't talk' crap. She needed to know everything, to at least quell the fear. But for now, Flandre painting. She looked down at the strips of paper. Spell cards. She always liked making them. It was a nice way to relax after all the madness and frustration of incidents. And she had some good quality ink and paper for once. She should make the most of it.

Reimu inhaled and sighed, pushing the worry aside. No matter what, she's still herself. Or whatever Keine said. Reimu grabbed her brush and started to ink. What kind of spell card would fit her now? That makeshift one she made via crayon and rushed scribbles was...corrupted sign, right? Well, it made sense. She could probably use her new magic to fake her old powers. Kinda. She made binding chains. Although they only restrained instead of weakening or sealing. She didn't what fully power mess you up cards, that's Marisa's gimmick. Maybe binding would be nice, and some defensive ones. She shook her head. Or she could just draw them and test them like normal and settle for whatever happens. Yeah, that sounds right.

Brush in hand, she began writing, slowly making characters and small symbols with a steady hand. She took the purple. It was her new electric magic's main colour. She coloured it in with fast strokes and jabs, rapidly changing colours. Yeah, this was nice.

"Reimu." a voice made her freeze as she accidentally snapped the brush.

Ohh, she was nearly done. 'Altered sign: fallen fantasy' was surrounded by a sea of red and purple, with half of the borders covered in small symbols.

"Hmm?! What…?" she looked around, spotting Sakuya.

The maid held out a set of clothes. Her clothes.

"Repaired, washed and ironed. I've modified the back to include holes for your wings." Sakuya stated placing it down.

She pulled a cloth free from a pocket on her side and walked over, using it to rub the ink off her face.

"I would appreciate it if you did not get ink all over it."

"Hey, that was Flandre's fault, s-stop that!" she complained as the maid removed the ink.

"There, now, for the next part. The Moriya shrine maiden is here to see you. She believes you are looking into the vampire blood or are taking care of a victim of it and wishes to help." Sakuya said "How do you want to deal with that?"

Reimu's heart sank. Why, why was Sanae here? How did she find out? Why was she sticking her nose into this. Okay, she knew why. Because she's Sanae. She wanted to help. But she really didn't want to deal with her now. How would she react?...She'd probably just brush it off. Maybe she could help. Kinda. Marisa wasn't around to talk to, where was she anyway? Off doing something probably. Anyway, Keine's little speech had helped a little, and maybe Sanae could put some of her fears down. Was she really about to do this…

"Bring her…" Reimu whispered.

"Hmm, surprising. Go change back into your outfit behind a bookcase, unless you want to be a vampire maid." Sakuya smirked before vanishing.

Reimu swallowed and grabbed the outfit, an uneasy feeling gnawing her as she ran over to a bookcase. Just go away, please?

Sakuya appeared where she had left Sanae, finding the girl fiddling with her hair, poking the snake binding the front of it. She turned to the maid.

"Did you find her?" Sanae asked, smiling.

"Yes, please come with me."

Sakuya turned and walked away, the shrine maiden following. The two walked in silents, the head maid not once speaking. It made the whole trip a bit awkward. So she tried breaking that.

"So, has Flandre been behaving herself? I heard she used to be a little hard to control until Marisa found her."

"...She is fine. Lady Flandre was easy to look after, she simply sat in her room."

"Oh, for how long? Was it a day or two to calm her down?"

"I do not know the full length, but certainly over 400 years."

"Ehh...that's, a bit long. Didn't she get lonely?" Sanae wondered.

"Loneliness only grows after the loss of contact to the world and its people. She never had contact."

Silence fell again. This is cheery. Well, once she gets to Reimu it'll pick up. Reimu always put a little spark into conversation. After another 5 minutes of quiet nothing, they arrived at a door.

"Reimu and Lady Flandre are inside. Please do not overreact."

"Huh, what do you-" Sakuya left "mean…?"

She shrugged. Whatever. Sanae grabbed the door handle and pushed it open, strolling in. Near the front of the massive room, sat at a table, was a blond little girl.

 _Probably Flandre_

Sanae looked left and right. No Reimu though…

"Umm, hello? Reimu? It's Sanae, where are you?" she asked cupping her mouth to make her call louder.

"She's getting out of her maid clothes." Flandre smiled, kicking her legs.

"FLANDRE!" Reimu's voice shouted from a bit away, clearly annoyed.

Sanae's response. A giggle. The thought of Reimu cosplaying as a maid filled her head. It was funny sure, but now she wanted to see it. As she looked back at where the voice had come from, she spotted Reimu rounding the books.

"So, uh, hey, can you not freak out." she warned walking completely into view.

"Freak out, about what?" Sanae looked at Reimu, noticing she looked a bit pale.

Jeez, not getting out enough Reimu, that's not healthy. And her eyes were bloodshot. No wait, they were just red...instead of brown. Than she noticed the large reddish bat wings coming from her back.

"Ohhhhhhh...well, when someone being a vampire was mentioned, this was not want I was expecting." she admitted rubbing her neck.

Reimu sighed, letting her catch a glimpse of sharp fang.

"Do you, want to explain?" Sanae shrugged.

"Sure I guess." Reimu wandered over to the table as Sanae joined her and the painting Flandre.

 _ **Insert explanation**_

* * *

Reimu sat back in her chair, her wings catching on the back of it.

"Hmm, so you woke up like this and have been here all day?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. Well, I was Eientei earlier and after everything calms down there Eirin will probably come with a cure or something. Vampirism always has a cure in books and movies." she reassured.

"This is real life, not some made up story."

"Reimu, this is a land where goddesses, youkai, humans and oni can have magical four way duels with lasers and energy bullets and after destroying each other go have tea. An quick simple cure will be easy for Eirin. She made a cure for the common cold. You can't just make something like that. So cheer up! Everything will be fine." Sanae clapped with a cheer.

"But what about what Patchouli said about my-" "I'd ignore that." Sanae interrupted her.

Reimu deadpanned.

"No really, I think she was reading too much into it. That book…" Reimu pointed to the abandoned book "Hmm, yeah, this a book on mental conditions based on a few tests from the outside, but if your brain really got damaged enough to make a split personality, you'd have a lot more problems. You would at least have had a stroke before your healing stopped it. Or memory problems, bigger than you forgetting a dream. I think you're overthinking this, by a lot." Sanae explained.

"But maybe I did have a-"

"Did you lose control of half your body and your face sag on the left. Slurred speech, couldn't move your arm?"

"N-No…"

Any other memories go poof?"

"No."

"Than apart from a little split personality and anger problems, that may have been there already, I think you're fine. Except the vampire part but you know." Sanae explained closing the book.

Reimu looked at the green haired girl. The jab at her anger didn't escape her, but the rest? She seemed so sure. Ha, this was making her feel better.

"If you want, I can stay with you for awhile. Lady Yakumo and Ran are trying to find the youkai and should make good progress by themselves. Lady Yakumo is personally helping."

"Yukari's going full steam? That makes this situation seem a whole lot worse." Reimu whispered.

"Don't worry, even if you have to leave your shrine because of this, you can come live with me!" she announced, smiling "Suwako is gonna be ecstatic to have someone new to ann-talk to." she finished, switching words with a clear stutter.

"Yeah, not happening, no matter what."

"He, but you know, a when a fairy in the hallway earlier said you where a vampire I didn't believe it."

"I still don't want to believe it." Reimu sighed, rubbing her head.

* * *

 **Eientei**

Ran looked at Reisen and then back to the patients. It had been 10 minutes, and only using one hand while also not looking at the spell was slowing her progress down. How long will Eirin and Kaguya take? As if on cue, the two returned, with two decently filled blood bags and half of the trees leaves cut off. Kaguya was holding a mortar with pink paste in it.

"Sorry for the delay, the leaves required a harder touch to grind." Eirin apologised as she examined Alice.

"The rabbits did a good job though, the six all working together to crush the crystallising leaves makes me wonder why they always seem so inclined to be lazy and play." Kaguya shrugged.

"Earth rabbits don't like hard work. They most likely realised the gravity of the situation and got to work." Reisen commented "And you're a bit soft on them. The moon rabbits are usually whipped into action if found slacking off. Well, figuratively whipped." Reisen corrected.

Eirin nodded and started mixing the crystal paste with some of the ground leaves. Ran stood and as she walked over to the patients room, Kaguya stopped her.

"What are you making?" she asked.

"Hmm, a spell that will track the youkai's blood. Kagerou said she was bleeding, so she should be leaving a trail of blood."

Kaguya nodded and turned back to the doctor and the rabbit. The two were working hard and fast to cure this disease. It was the first time in a while she had seen Eirin and Reisen actually working together. And with her helping too, it was an odd day. All it took was a possible fatal poison. She glanced at the clock. It was already past 7pm. Night was fast approaching. And tomorrow, more rushing.

"Eirin, may I leave? I do not wish to slow you down by being in the way."

"Hmm, oh, if you want Kaguya. I believe we can handle the rest."

"Yeah, don't worry Lady Kaguya. Myself and master can do this."

"Excellent. See you tomorrow." Kaguya bowed out of the room, sighing.

 _I did not wish to say it in front of them all, but I despise being near those sick humans and youkai so long. A little contact is fine, but hours is grating._ Kaguya shivered, a small grimace _It is no fault of their own, the fault of my dislike is my own, but still I dislike it. Mmm... this youkai though that stole the blood, what could they be planning? Incidents are usually grand and visible, are they not? Yet this...is more secretive. Hmm, it is odd._

Kaguya wandered off towards her room, consumed in thought.

Eirin mixed the paste along with several other mushed and powder materials, before grabbing the blood bags. She stabbed a plastic port near the top with a syringe and used it to transfer some to the mortar. She used a second to extract some from the second. Without looking, she grabbed a bottle and carefully poured some milky liquid into the mixture. The deep red started to turn purple as the pink and white mixed together, Eirin grabbing the pestle and swirling it around, the paste starting to run. After three minutes, the medicine had gone almost watery, a shiny purple liquid that seemed to throb with light every few seconds.

"There." Eirin used a third syringe to drain the mortar dry.

"Is that it master?" Reisen examined it, curious.

"Yes, I remember it well. It was quite surprising when I first made it. This should either cure Alice, or weaken the toxin enough for the previous remedy to work effectively."

Eirin walked over to the puppeteer. Seija eyed the syringe.

"That l-looks strong."

"It is."

Eirin ran her hand over Alice's neck, stopped at the injection site, a hard lump under the skin. Needle in hand, she pierced the point, injecting the liquid. At first, nothing. Then the blackened skin seemed to lighten to a purple. Alice's visible blue veins filled with purple as the black around them lessened. It was slow, but it was working. Reisen, who was staring at the point, turned to Eirin, who looked relieved.

"Good…(sigh) good." she walked over her table again, checking what Reisen had been doing "Continue grinding this and once it's all done, mix roughly 40% of all the reagents together, boil and cool it and inject it into Seija. Make a second with the remnants and make another two doses after that. Fill a syringe with each and have them labeled and ready. I'm going to check on the others and then I'm sitting down."

"Of course master!" Reisen nodded and returned to working, Seija glancing at Alice, who was squirming.

Things were looking up.

* * *

 **Human village**

The sun was near set went Keine and Mokou returned to the bamboo forest. Keine had spent the last while attempting to put together her warning to the village. Mokou helped, but neither could think of a fool proof way to explain this all to the villagers without inciting panic, or a fear fueled mob. There is to an announcement with all adults to attend when they return. Oh gods, this is going to be a nightmare. They arrived at the exposed hand, no longer smoldering. The sun had set enough for it to be safe for the dead partial vampire. Mokou quickly dug the boy up. His face was frozen in fear and shock. Keine sighed.

"You ready?" Mokou hoisted the rigid body over her shoulder.

"(Sigh) No. Not even the Elder knows what I'm going to say. This is going to cause chaos."

"Well, this guy means you can't hide it, and if the holy shrine maiden really is a vampire, You couldn't hide it forever."

"I know. But the villagers already are on edge with her, and this my just push it too far."

"Come on, it's not like they'll mob the shrine to tear it down in a fit of fear rage." Mokou joked.

Keine just stared.

"Come on Keine, no matter what youkai and gods say, humans are not that dumb. They know the shrine is important."

"Why do you think they never visit it?" Keine asked.

"Youkai filled woods. And shrine. With a hint of fairy." Mokou guessed.

"Pretty much. Most people think it's a failure thanks to Reimu. If the other was not on the mountain, people would go there exclusively." Keine turned and walked back to the path.

"Pretty sure the green girl doesn't do shrine maiden stuff either."

"Sanae has shown a drive to do it if necessary. And her gods are present. And there are no youkai and oni running around with a fairy in the basement."

"Wellll...yeah."

"We'll just have to see."

The two continued on, quickening their pace as they reached the bamboo's edge. The walk was brisk, and Keine swallowed air remembering everything she needed to say, the plans, the tension diffusers. Everything needed to be said clearly, correctly, with a tone that showed that the situation is under as much control as it can be. Mokou flew off as they approached the village. She needed to go in the back of the school to cover the body and prepare him for display. Despite the vampiric nature of the body, the family will at least wish to say goodbye. Keine walked through the front entrance's wooden gate and was instantly accosted a group of men, all looking pissed.

"Hey, why do we all have to hang around this late at night?" "Yeah, some of us have to get sleep so we can work tomorrow." two of the men spoke over each other.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but this matter affects everyone in the village. It will begin soon, I'm sorry for your inconvenient." Keine stated, the man all backing up, irritated, before leaving.

Keine sighed as she sped up her pace, approaching the school, noticing a middle aged man waiting by the small chest high gate. He waved as she approached.

"Miss Kamishirasawa, should I gather the villagers, many are getting impatient due to being unable to rest at their homes as night comes" he stated weary.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience. But yes, please do. Tell your father to get the missing boys parents as well."

"Ahh, I see what this is. Well, we shall gather everyone by the school gate." he nodded and walked away, Mokou appearing from behind as he did.

"Body's ready, ish. As good as it's going to be."

"Mmm, okay, let's run this through one last time."

* * *

It didn't take long for the majority of the villagers to gather. Most of the adults had come to hear what Keine had to say. No one would admit it publicly, but most of the villagers thought of Keine as the main leader and decision maker for the settlement, due to how most of the big decisions either came from her, or she involved herself with them enough to decide if it was a good idea, and veto it if not. She'd killed many an argument or policy via a simple death glare and short 'no'. So if she said it was important, most would listen. Even those against her often listened out of fear of missing something critical. Mokou appeared from the gate, a wooden school desk in hand, placing it down. Keine followed, climbing up onto it.

"Everyone, thank you for coming to this announcement. What I am about to tell you is extremely important. It affects this village, and may affect it and Gensokyo as a whole for years to come. I had hoped to keep this from you to prevent fear, but a discovery Mokou made has made that impossible. Early this morning, Mokou found the body of the missing boy, Yuuki Aoi. He was found buried within the bamboo forest of the lost. That in of itself is a tragedy, but another aspect paints this in a darker light. Although dead, the boy's body burns within sunlight. Before death, he was turned into a vampire.-" unrest began to spread through the people.

"This is not the fault of the Scarlets, it most likely caused by a youkai by the name of Kageshō who obtained the blood of vampires. You may wonder if the Hakurei shrine maiden is investigating this, and to answer that, I have more worrying news. Some of you may have seen Hakurei this morning attempting to sneak around the village. This is because, it appears she is a victim in this as well."

As she finished for a breath, a wave of tangible panic spread through the crowd like a wildfire, consuming them. Shouts started echoing from the back, drowned out by the droning of the masses in front of her. The parents of the child looked horrified, frozen in shock. The humans seemed to grow more restless by each passing second, quickly approaching a fever pitch. Chaos loomed. Keine opened her mouth to speak, but the discord swallowed her words. Than there was a deafening bang, courtesy of Mokou, followed by a second and third to force everyone's attention to the front.

"Hey everyone, kindly SHUT OF A SEC!" Mokou cried into the crowd, the humans collectedly stopping.

"Please everyone, I understand your worries, and your distress. But mobbing together and bearing down on Hakurei will not help, rampant panic may cost people dearly. This is not her doing, nor the Scarlets. A youkai of unknown intent seeks to spread this akin to a plague. But although the Hakurei shrine maiden is currently compromised, a sage of Gensokyo and her servant are investigating and will find this rouge youkai! Others are assisting as well. Until we receive confirmation of the youkai extermination, I would request that all citizens of the village remain inside their homes at night and not allow any their children out of their sight! Classes will run as scheduled although parents may keep their children with them if they please. Children coming to school must be brought to the schoolhouse by a parent and will be supervised at all times. All unknown or uncommonly seen youkai that visit the village must be questioned and logged with a description. Any matching the basic description of the youkai Kageshō will be questioned. Although this may upset people, a message will be written and hung in youkai heavy areas and sent to the tengu village with a request for aid in guarding the village those who wish to help. I will personally speak to and ensure any who come are trustworthy. Any villagers capable of magic or trained in martial combat may apply for a position in an emergency defense force to drive off the youkai should she appear! This is strictly voluntary, you will not be conscripted. Never travel alone and report anything suspicious. We will remain united and strong, and never let another tragedy like poor Yuuki again!" Keine announced into the crowd, gasping slightly, having not stopped to breath.

Silence rung in the ears of the humans, before a quiet murmur and low claps escaped the crowd. It slowly grew in strength and volume before a large cheer erupted out, the humans stoked to action. Keine hopped off the desk as Yuuki parents walked up to her. Without saying anything, she lead them into the building. Several men and a few women walked up to the gate, Mokou blocking them. A select few held weapons.

"Hmm, I get it. Keine's gonna be busy for a bit, but if you want to prove you got the stuff to help, let the immortal test you." she smiled, the group losing a hint of their motivation.

* * *

 **Within the swirling red void (aka Reimu's head)**

Reimu opened her eyes and looked around. She was in the weird void again. Or her head as Copy called it. She glanced around, confused. How did she get here? Did she fall asleep? When...oh right…

 _ **Sanae clapped her hands together.**_

" _ **Okay, so what should we do to kill some time?" she asked looking around the room.**_

" _ **Me and Reimu were inking pictures and spell cards so we could play!" Flandre explained waving her brush, ink flying.**_

 _ **Reimu leaned to the left and avoided the ink, Sanae catching it on the nose. She smirked.**_

" _ **He, sounds fun! What did you make?" she asked leaning over to look at Flandre's paper.**_

 _ **Reimu looked too, spotting a messy picture of a little blond girl and a brown haired girl sitting in a field, a white haired girl carrying a pot. The whole thing was inked in reds and oranges, giving it an evening feel.**_

" _ **Wow, that's lovely! And you Reimu?"**_

 _ **Reimu grabbed the mostly finished spell card and held it up. The ink had set while they were talking.**_

" _ **I need to finish it, than add magic or something."**_

" _ **Cool, mine if I join in?"**_

" _ **Nope!" Flandre smiled grabbing two brushes, giving one to Sanae and one to Reimu.**_

" _ **Thanks."**_

 _ **And so the three inked in peace. Reimu continued the card and finished it, before grabbing a new piece and starting a new one, copying the pattern, before suddenly stopping. Flandre copied herself in fights, Yukari called Ran and Chen. So could she…using Copy?**_

 _ **She grabbed the white ink and started going over some of the design, before carefully writing the spells cards name. 'Fantasy sign: Doppelgänger mirage'. Hmm, that'll be interesting if it works. Footsteps distracted her, making her look up. Patchouli walked into view along with Remilia.**_

" _ **My, the shrine maidens are multiplying." she joked with fake horror "How'd you get here?"**_

" _ **Mokou said Reimu was here and I wanted to help her look after the new vampire. But she, eh, was the new vampire."**_

" _ **Hmm, okay. So Patchy said she found something interesting?"**_

 _ **Before Reimu could even react and feel worried, Sanae stood up.**_

" _ **She supposedly did, but I think it's unlikely cuz Reimu would have a lot more problems if she was right, so let's forget about that. Right now it's inking time and picture drawing!" Sanae derailed the conversation and promptly killed it.**_

 _ **Remilia just shrugged as Patchouli looked annoyed.**_

" _ **Cool, so it's getting close to Flandre's bedtime. So she needs to get going."**_

" _ **Hmm, but it's only getting near 8." Sanae pulled out her battered and near broken flip phone, reading the time from the cracked screen.**_

" _ **Yes, but Flandre goes to bed by 8:30 and usually refuses to sleep for hours, but her being near her bed usually wears her out eventually."**_

" _ **But no one's had dinner?" Reimu folded her arms.**_

" _ **We're vampires, dinner is more a social thing than actually needed. If you're hungry drink some maiden." Remilia laughed.**_

 _ **Sanae glanced at Reimu, a bit worried. The annoyed and slightly disgusted face she made put her mind at ease.**_

" _ **Sakuya will be preparing a little fancy meal soon for the morning. You can look forward to that."**_

 _ **Reimu sighed, it made sense. Flandre grabbed her arm.**_

" _ **Come on, we can have a sleepover in my room. My beds massive." she tugged happily.**_

" _ **Don't you sleep in coffins?" Sanae wondered.**_

" _ **Phhhf, coffins. How cliche." Remilia scoffed.**_

" _ **Hmm, hey, can I stay a bit longer?" Sanae asked.**_

 _ **Reimu turned to the green haired girl, surprised.**_

" _ **If they let you I guess."**_

" _ **(Gasp!) Triple sleepover! Can we?!" the blond stared at her sister, the gaze almost burning a hole into her.**_

" _ **If you want I guess."**_

"Will you stop that!" Reimu rolled her eyes and turned to her vampiric clone, who ceased her monologue of memories as she did.

"I was just reminding ya." she grinned, her fanged maw glimmering in the crimson light.

 _At least she's wearing clothes this time_ Reimu complained in her head.

"You said to."

"Please stop being Satori."

"I can't turn it off, in your brainscape." she knocked her skull for emphasis.

"Whatever." Reimu huffed.

She remember the rest now anyway, the three hung out in Flandre's room talked or playing before Flandre got into her nightclothes and climbed into bed. She probably fell asleep after that. Whatever.

"Hey, Copy." her clone looked at her "I need you answer something."

"It depends."

"No, it doesn't. I need this answered now. What are you, really. Please answer me. No matter how much Sanae tries, or anyone tries, until I hear exactly what's wrong or what happened to my head I won't be able to stop thinking about what Patchouli said. Did the blood damage my head, will getting this cured kill me if it did. Please, I know you have answers to that!" Reimu yelled, staring at her vampiric self.

"I-I...he was pissed off from me telling you that little last time-" "I don't care! I'll take whatever punishment you'll get for telling me! I need to know! Just so I can bury this and relax a little!" Reimu cut her off.

Copy looked conflicted. Scared. She looked around. Inhaled. Before stepping over.

"Okay, okay." a blurred figure appeared behind Reimu "No, you know what, she's right, she needs this, you must have seen her freak out earlier with those two, it'll only get worse. She needs to know, so screw secrets. Piss off!" Copy clawed at her arm, blood leaking out as she used a pulse to harden the blood into a sharp thin pole.

The blood weapon outstretched, Reimu faced towards the figure as it faded. Featureless, save a set of wings and tail.

" _Fine than...but no names…_ " an echoing whisper reached her as the entity faded.

"Good, screw you -" Copy spat, one word lacking any sound "Anyway, where to start. I suppose my creation."

"How I was made is kinda like Patchy described. The vampire blood's age messed with your mind, a tiny bit. I'm, just little fragments from all over your head, mixed together. I should have been just a split personality, something you flicked to sometimes, I don't know really. But something intervened. You're the Hakurei shrine maiden, a bit important. So, it, made me more of a person than a fragment of you. It sealed away all your powers, because it was attempting to heal and remove the blood and curse from your system. This was bad though. It was brute forcing it. Directly attempting to purge it. This may have killed you if it continued. It was ripping cells and blood apart to get to it. I was told there was a 20% chance it would succeed. Otherwise. You'd die. So that was delayed, sealed away, with your new vampirism locked up mostly in me. But this wouldn't last forever. A choice needed to be made. But he knew. He knew no matter what, you'd choose the sacred power over the vampire stuff. No matter the risk. So you were striped to a memoryless girl, to choose based on inborn instinct. You choose the safe obtain. The smart one. Why risk death when you could just, give it up. Now I'm just a byproduct." Copy smiled, looking a mix of forlorn and relieved "That's me, and be extension you. Getting cured is safe in my eyes, you'll just have to deal with the fact I'll probably still be around and you've lost the divine powers. He said you can't have'em like this, only if that 20% had worked."

"He...do you mean...that stupid enshrined god? That lazy, silent god that never spoke once to me, no matter how much I tried! I thought he'd pissed to worlds unknown because of the quiet." Reimu ranted.

"Heh, he was worried about you." Copy was knocked back by a yin-yang orb to the face, the red and white ball shattering on contact "Screw you asshole it's true!"

Reimu sat down as Copy came back, before lying back, gazing into the void. Heh, wish she had said that earlier. Still, she can't be the shrine maiden anymore...damn it. Damn it...but if she gets this cured, maybe Marisa or Patchouli could teach her magic so she could help out still. If she can stay motivated long enough to get it down. She could manage that. Crap, she hated this defeatist attitude. Still though, no brain stuff. Mostly. That she could live with. Although just because she shouldn't be able to get her powers back doesn't mean she won't try. Yukari might help. Maybe Kasen. This isn't over.

"Or you could just go along with Sanae and get one of the two gods to give you powers by becoming their personal maiden." Copy suggested leaning over her with a smile, a pulse of red consuming her and replacing her outfit for a copy of Sanae's.

 _F**k that._

"Fine." Copy flopped onto the floor.

"I wish today would just stop." Reimu sighed.

"Nah, this is more fun."

"No it's not."

"That's just your opinion."

Gods, let this end...

* * *

 **The halls of the manor, late night**

A dark slit appeared before opening with a quiet rip, shadows leaking off it. Kageshō stuck her head out, glancing around. Okay, quiet, no one around. Good. Now all she needs to do is not attract attention. Although with everything going on, attendant was seemingly grabbing onto her with all its might to drag her down. Damn it, nothing is easy. Especially this part.

Blood, she needs, more blood. Her plan needs more blood. The amount she had would have carried her to near completion because of how little was needed to make vampires, but those two idiots ruined it. Now, she needs to get more. From the Scarlets, cuz the last syringe in Eientei is probably stored away super safe and the little bit she has might not be enough due to leakage from her yanking it out of miss horned b**th. How the f**k is she going to do this?

Okay, make a list and plan. First, she needs to find one of them. Or maybe even the shrine girl. She should be a full one by now. She had poked her head in at the shrine but only found a few fairies sleeping on the floor. Second, when she finds one, refill the syringe with the blood. With that she could kidnap another few human kids and turn them and suck'em dry. Then she'd need to kill them. Uhhh, this is annoying! They just had to ruin the blood bag. The report wasn't the worst part, at all really. She had read that it's hard to cure, poisons youkai and doesn't affect anything else. Now then, she needed to be quiet and careful.

Kageshō hopped out of the portal and closed it. And without making a sound she started walking. Last time she was here was when she tried making the witch a vampire. That would have been prefect. Both of Gensokyo's main problem solvers distracted and out of the way. Although the mage messing up Marisa's nose worked too...ish. The devil nearly caught her, and ruined some blood. Sow enough chaos, then spread the blood like a plague. Then, when everything's falling apart, either they or she would-

Kageshō stepped out of the hall and into a room. A light had appeared. After a few seconds, a fairy floated by, yawning.

"Why does La(yawn)Lady Remilia want a drink this late…" she complained, floating away.

Yes. Yes yes yes. Perfect. This fairy will lead her straight to the girl. Then when she falls asleep. Prick and run. Good, finally some luck. Kageshō exited the room and followed the girl. She walked for a few minutes, the fairy never noticing her, before stopping by a door, opening it to candle light. Kageshō peeked inside. A white haired woman was cutting something up.

"Miss Izayoi, Lady Remilia wants a drink."

"I see." with less then second of delay, Sakuya placed the knife down and grabbed a glass.

She dipped it in a large pot, before holding it to the fairy.

"Tell her I am busy finishing the final preparations for tomorrow's meal and cannot make tea. This will have to do."

The fairy nodded and grabbed the glass, leaving. The door was pushed open enough to force Kageshō into hiding for second, before leaving the shadows and following. She stopped when a knife suddenly flew passed her arm and sliced the cloth. She froze.

"Do you think yourself invisible? You didn't even hide your presence. And a quick glimpse of you was caught due to being too close to the door. Dealing with Marisa is a prefect way to practice catching those who wish to sneak in here. Her skill level is absurdly high. You're quiet, but not unseeable." an icy voice echoed behind her.

Well, she had heard the head maid was good. And she had strayed too close. She could near sum up today as a comedy of errors. With equal amounts not her fault, dumb luck, and her being stupid. Kageshō turned to find a knife in her face with cold, harsh eyes bearing down on her.

"Now than, explain."

Kageshō said nothing, because anything she said would make things worse. She needed to leave, and come back later. Like in a week, or year. Without warning, she suddenly felt the syringe in her hand vanish, Sakuya examining it. How the hell-?!

"Mmm...blood? Wait. A tail, not human. Youkai. Is it possible you're the cause?" she asked herself more then Kageshō.

 _S**t, I need that back, and then run_ Kageshō thought before piercing the ground with her tail.

Sakuya noticed this and jumped back as a construct of shadows rose up.

"You know what maid? I'm sick of everything going wrong. First that girl annoys me and gets the sage after me, then that girl Alice finds me and can't keep her nose to herself, I end up in the gap house, I lost my blood and get my back torn open and now I can't even resupply. I'm sick of my plan going wrong!" Kageshō yelled.

Sakuya raised an eyebrow.

"So it is you. But what is this plan? You're causing a lot of problems. There appears to be no reason. And whatever it is, it most likely does not justify anything close to what you've done."

"My plan, it's simply, really. Dark, shadows, my powers all relay on that. In light, I'm useless, in perfect dark, useless. Twilight, a shaded light. I love that. What would happen if everyone human was a vampire. Day wouldn't be needed, youkai and vampire alike prefer the night. If there was no need for day, I'd never be powerless. I want a world of shadows, of veiled light. And force enough vampires through, and day stops being a needed time."

"Hmm, so that's why. A selfish, self-serving plan. One with consequences you have not considered."

"Really, the Scarlet's maid saying that? I loved that mist you know. It made the perfect shadows. Then the shrine girl made it go away."

"Yes, that's true. But the scarlet mists could be undone. You're plan is more, difficult to undo. Blocking the sun would be a normal incident. But this is a step too far." Sakuya shook her head, frowning.

"You think I care. All the youkai seem to have forgotten that 'hey, we're meant to be the monsters of this land.' They're more human than youkai. I don't care about the spell cards, they're just around to make humans feel better. I'm done with that crap. I want a little chaos in my incident. I want Gensokyo to remember it. Now, give me that BLOOD!" Kageshō yelled as Sakuya noticed something approach from behind.

She dodged to the right, the tendril stabbing the floor.

"Fine then, you don't want spell card rules. Then allow me the privilege to 'cut loose'." and with a smile and a click, time froze.

Sakuya walked over to the youkai. She threw a knife, the blade slowing as it left her hand, freezing in the air. She walked up behind her, and kick her in the back, in the large wound at her spine's base. Time slowly resumed, although to Kageshō, Sakuya vanished, she suddenly was flying forward, a knife had just stabbed her chest. Time froze again. No restrictions on how long before she could use it again. Although this time, she pulled out several knives, and threw them, Before running to the side and pulling more from seemingly nowhere, throwing them. She jumped over the youkai, a curve of knives in the same ark as her jump were thrown. She threw more as she landed. She drew two more as she grabbed the frozen girl, placed her down, and pinned her feet with silver blades. And a final touch, she left four more directly in front of her. There was physically no way to escape unscathed. And after all, she was 'allowed' to do this. To finish it off, she turned and cut the tendril into pieces, the thing only together due to time not moving.

"And thus, time marches on." she whispered as time began flowing.

Kageshō let out a pained yelp as she felt her feet suddenly explode in pain, before four knives stabbed her. She then noticed the cage of knives. She summoned up a hardened shadowy shell, the knives all stabbing and sinking in, but the shell hanging on. Kageshō sucked in air as she yanked out the now five knives in her chest before reaching down to grab one of the knives in her feet, but froze as the shell disappeared and a glinting blade was held by her neck.

"Rules exist for reasons, without them, I could win any battle. I freeze time and just slit their throat. The end." she vanished as Kageshō was thrown to the ground, knives pinning limbs "I could hold opponents down and torture them without giving them a chance. The end." Kageshō was suddenly standing with a knife in her hip and a hand on her neck "Spell cards give those who are weak a chance to fight, it looks like you need them?" Sakuya smiled.

"This is…"

"Unfair, correct, it is. You said Yukari is looking for you. If she catches you, it won't be like Seija. Seija, for all her trouble causing, followed the rules, mostly. Even when we all started to bend them to catch her, she bent them too. It made for a spectacular mess of both sides bending rules, but both sides didn't break them. They all still followed most of them. Neither side was hurt too much. Even that shell of a woman Junko obeyed them to an extent. But you have broken rules. Most likely a few. You have stirred Yukari to action. Seija was banned from most public places and got a bounty, but was still allowed to stay, because she understands you can't break the rules with serious consequences. You though? Yukari or Reimu, it does not matter. They will kill you when they get a hold of you. If I don't fir-?!" Sakuya froze and bent her body to the left, letting out a pained gasp.

Kageshō had coiled her tail around during her monologue and tried stabbed her in the back, into her stomach. It instead slashed her back, a noticeable bloodstain leaking into the fabric. She dropped the youkai as she reached for her back, shying away from the stinging pain.

"Gods, shut up! I don't need a damn lecture!" she sneered as Sakuya.

"Ngh-! Sneaky...b-brat." Sakuya restrained herself.

She stifled a grunt. She needed to keep some air of professionalism around her. No swearing. Kageshō grabbed the syringe and attempted to run.

"Fine than, run away. But before you do." Sakuya threw a final knife, the blade shattering the syringe, blood falling to the floor.

"Well then, thanks for that, everything is RUINED now. You know what?! I'm done. I'm f**king done! I'm crawling into a hole until the gap b**th forgets me!" Kageshō fled into a gap, the portal snapping shut.

 _Ughmm, good, youkai successfully repelled. Blood gone. Now I just need to deal with...this..._ Sakuya collapsed to one knee after she finished.

She knelt on the floor for a minute, clutching the wound before attempting to stand. As she did, the fairy came back.

"Miss Izayoi, Lady Remilia said she can wait for...Miss Izayoi…?"

The fairy's mind stalled noticing the nasty back wound, Sakuya turned to her. Before the maid could speak, the fairy's mind suddenly jump started.

" **H-HEELLLLPPPPPPPPPP!"**

* * *

AN: 10272 words without the AN...this could be two chapters. I think it's double the length in total my next longest thing I wrote.  
I don't feel like figuring out were to split it up.

So, sorry for the wait. I was asked to help out where my mam works and it's been consuming my days. I'm going away on the 1st July and I want this story finished by then, hence the 10000 words. There's only going to be like four more of this story. I've everything planned and kinda ready. I just need time to write it. Quick fact, Kageshō's motivation is one of the sole things I haven't changed since I first thought of this story.

Anyway, with this near double the length of a normal chapter of anything I write, please tell me if I messed something up. I've reread it three times and haven't seen anything and yet I know something is there, hiding from my dyslexic brain.

Review, pm, stuff.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Despair

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

Remilia sat in her bed, staring at the oil lamp burning beside her, lighting a small mechanical clock a kappa had given her as part of the...apology for selling her that broken...thing. It was supposed to make outside world power via burning wood so Sakuya could use some machines Sanae showed them to make cleaning easier. It instead exploded and lit her hair on fire. She was not amused for weeks. Shaking her head, she sighed at the time. 1:02am. Remilia had woken up to an annoying pang of hunger, so a quick banging on the wall had gotten a fairy to come. Sakuya should still be up, so tea would do nicely. Although the fairy arriving with a wine glass of dripping blood was not want she was expecting.

"(Sigh) If she's busy I can wait a minute, go tell her that." she huffed, the poor fairy yawning and flying away.

Gods, she couldn't be drinking that much blood this later. It'd make her sick. She could hear the humans now. 'Oh you're a vampire, you're meant to drink lotta blood at night bah bah bah!'. She hadn't done that in 200 years and starting that up again would just be irritating. Some tea and a little in food through the day, much more manageable. Hmm. Speaking of manageable, she wondered how Reimu would deal with blood. She clearly didn't like the idea of drinking it, but too bad, she needs to.

Remilia leaned back. Now that she was on the subject, what would Reimu decide to do? Patchy had described the, 'brain' thing, which she thought sounded really dumb. If she could go human again, would she? It would upset Flan, but she can't force her to stay one because her sister would be sad. Having another vampire around wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. It being Reimu was a little problem that messed Gensokyo's balance up slightly (massively) but ehh, her choice. Now than, wh-

" **H-HEELLLLPPPPPPPPPP!"**

A scream echoed from the halls outside, the voice of a fairy shaking the walls. Remilia jumped out of bed and flew out of the ajar door a split second later.

 _No one screams that loud that later unless something is wrong, why did she scream?!_ Remilia questioned herself as she flew down the corridor.

She sped along the darkened halls, quickly zoning in on the scream. She landed and dug her heels in as she arrived, damaging the flooring as she slowed her speed. The grinding alerted the two silhouettes in the shadows as she ran up to them. The first, the fairy had a scared look of horror on her face and the second...was a pained Sakuya, a noticeable gash in back, oozing blood. Where it was, the depth, it wasn't some accidental cut. Remilia saw red as she face contorted.

"WHO!? HURT?! SAKUYA?!" she screeched, a crackle of energy leaking out her as a halo of tangible rage.

"L-Lady Remi-" "WHO!?" she cut the maid off, stomping up to her.

"A youkai, the one that caused this mess with the blood. S-She was here, wanting more blood." Sakuya explained.

"What happened?!" Meiling rounded a corner, wearing a tank top and shorts with a fairy in tow.

"Search the mansion for an intruder, NOW!" she yelled pointing at Meiling "Gather the fairies and help!" she pointed at the following fairy "And you get Patchy!" she finished looking at the original fairy.

"Got it!" the group collectively agreed, sprinting off in different directions.

Remilia stood still for a short time, visibly shaking with rage. She was going to rip her head off! No one hurts her friends/servants! True, her anger would be...less fiery if it was a fairy, but she would still be pissed off.

"Lady Remilia, I'm fine." Sakuya smiled through a wince.

"Your back is cut open! You're not fine!"

"It could be deeper, and she missed my vitals. It will heal with time. You don't need to fret."

"Who's the master here? I'm allowed to fret if I want to, now…" she turned and ran into the kitchen, grabbing a hand towel.

"My lady, that will run it."

"Ehh, you can get the blood out later." she joked as she wrapped the towel around the wound, pressing it in.

Sakuya seized up from the sharp pain, but didn't complain. Remilia was attempting to help. Even if helping was shoving a towel into an open wound. Eghhhhh…

* * *

A scream woke Patchouli with a fright, the mage glancing around.

"What was that?" she rubbed her eyes as she hopped out of bed.

With a slow hobble, Patchouli wandered over to her door. The first time in a week she slept in a bed and someone wakes her up. It better be something importa-

"WHO?! HURT!? SAKUYA?!" an ear piercing screech reverberated around the mansion's halls, making Patchouli flinch.

Okay, that sounds important. If Sakuya was hurt, she should grab her first aid kit and that spellbook of healing magic she's been meaning to memorise. She ran over to her closet and opened it, grabbing the white box. It was more for any paper cuts she gave herself, but there was a roll of bandages and some disinfectant. Remilia will probably demand her to heal Sakuya, but healing spells take time, preparation, and are not very good in the first place unless used for exactly what they were made for. Lacking versatility, a cardinal sin of a spell. But hey, the book and her skill should be able to do something possibly. As the mage turned to leave, a fairy burst into her room.

"Miss Mage, Miss Izayoi is hurt!"

"I heard. Bring this to Remilia, I'll follow." she passed off the kit to the fairy, who sped off "Why can't some of the fairies remember my name." she added, grumbling.

Patchouli ran out of the room and followed the slowly escaping fairy. Why did this have to happen at night. She soon lost sight of the fairy but from where she was in the mansion, the kitchen was the most likely area. So Patchouli continued to move as fast as she could, soon coming to a stop as she found the three. The fairy was holding the kit as Remilia was rooting around in it.

"Ah, Patchy! How does this stuff work?" she noticed her and held up the bandage.

Patchouli walked over and peeled off the blood soaked towel to examine the wound. Left side of her back, not too deep, missed anything vital. That's nice at least. She grabbed another towel and poured the majority small bottle of yellow fluid onto it and shoved it into the wound. Sakuya seized up again as the stinging flared up to an unbearable degree before Patchouli yanked it out, now stained red and grabbed the roll of bandage. With ease, the mage wrapped the bandage around her wound, the white cloth coiling around her outfit. Any part that would be on the wound, she added a small amount of the disinfectant. By the time it was covered, the roll was used completely and the bottle empty.

"There, that'll do. And before you ask, no, I don't think I can heal her. Healing spells are more for magic diseases, broken bones and the like. This is a flesh wound. A more time based heal. If it was a shallow cut maybe." Patchouli explained to the waiting vampire.

"Ohhh, this is why I think magic spells suck. Raw energy and abilities are so much better." Remilia complained, hiding a pout.

"Is it not because you're bad at learning them?" Sakuya smiled, Remilia turning to her.

"No, it's not. Come on, we need to get you somewhere to lie down." Remilia picked up her maid and wandered into a side room, dumping her onto a couch.

Sakuya lifted herself up and got into a decently comfortable position, Remilia sitting next to her.

"Lady Remilia, I'm fine, you can return to your room."

"No, I'm staying here. And you get to do something for the first time ever tomorrow. Take a single day off, can't have my head maid crippling herself."

"The mansion would burn to the ground if I did that." Sakuya deadpanned.

"You need a little rest."

"I will still be assisting tomorrow, even if I cannot do everything like normal."

"Grrraah, fine."

Meiling stuck her head in.

"Oh you're in here. Okay, I've run around the whole area and found nothing. The fairies flew around a bit and found nothing supposedly. Flandre and friends are asleep still, didn't hear anything I guess." Meiling reported.

"Have everyone look around everywhere for another hour, search everything and outside. If you find nothing, go sleep and in the morning hunt for clues, got it?" Remilia ordered.

"Got it."

"Well, I wanted excitement." Remilia joked.

"Indeed you did Lady Remilia."

* * *

 **Eientei, morning...like 6am or something there's no clock**

Aya opened her eyes, the world spinning. She felt, awful. Plain and simple. Her head was fuzzy, nose pulsing and with a subconscious forehead check, head boiling like a pot over a fire. But unlike the last 2...3...days? Not sure, the point being she could think straight. It wasn't easy or pleasant, but she could. Aya sat up and looked around the room she was in. Six beds, four filled, with extras on chairs. She looked to the right. The hell fairy Clownpiece was asleep in a chair. In front of her was one witch plus cat girl snuggling with a fox on the side. Well this was gold. Aya grabbed her notebook that was resting on the bed and opened to the last used pages. She raised an eyebrow. The four last pages used were a mess. The first two had illegible scribbles all over it. The third had 'piller' repeated over and over with 'blood' thrown in every while and the last were three questions for the 'the blond moon fairy.'

1) How many oni does a fairy eat daily?

2) Do fairies pee nature?

3) How does Reimu's basement smell?

"Okay, might of been a little out of it…" she whispered, grimacing as she scribbled over the questions to destroy them.

Aya looked around again and noticed a few more people. Or youkai in this case. One puppeteer with a weird purple and black rash all over her neck and arm to the left. To the right of the little neko, a surprising rule bending youkai with horns and a sailor uniform on. Similar rash on her hand and half her arm. Finally, a wolf girl asleep in a chair.

She had missed something big it appeared. Before she could move, a coughing fit grabbed her as she near hacked up her lungs. Gods, she felt gross. As if on cue, someone opened the patient room door. Reisen wandered in, looking exhausted, jacketless and crumbled shirt. She'd obviously had slept in it. She was holding a syringe, before glancing at a watch on her wrist. Than she noticed Aya.

"Gimmeeee aa seconnnddd…" she slurred, half asleep.

She walked over and grabbed a bottle beside Aya's bed, read the label and poured the remainder of the bottle into a spoon.

"Wait, I have a que-umph?!" Reisen silenced her with the spoon, Aya swallowing the medicine.

"Hey, seriously, I've a question f-for yoouuuu…" Aya collapsed back, the medicine knocking her out.

* * *

 **~2 hours later~**

Aya jolted awake, feeling noticeable less sick. Impressive. The room was mostly the same, save Ran was now awake as well and was messing with some spell circle thing.

"Err, stupid rabbit." she hissed, a bit annoyed.

Ran shushed her. Aya responded with a huff and climbed out of bed, before falling back as a dizzy spell made her head spin. After two dazed minutes, she stood again and walked over to the door, stepping out. She found Eirin mixing something and Reisen asleep at a table.

"Aya, I don't need more fever fueled rants." she stated unamused.

"Hey, I feel mostly fine. Don't remember a day or two but fine. Did something happen?" she gestured to the room behind.

"You could say that. Vampires, poison, attacks by a rogue youkai it's certainly been something annoying and worrying."

"Huh, care to explain?" Aya held up her notebook.

Eirin rolled her eyes.

"Reisen, entertain the tengu."

"Whuthf?" Reisen raised her head, out of it.

"Don't think she's up to it." Aya shrugged.

"No, no, I can du ift." she rubbed her face and eyes "Uhh, I feel like I drank a bucket of that medicine you made of insomnia and then refused to sleep."

Aya walked over to the bed and sat, Reisen walking over.

"Okay, where to start. Vampire blood was stolen by a youkai like three days ago or around then. It either makes humans vampires or poisons youkai." Aya started writing as Reisen spoke.

"So why did you have that blood?"

"Master used it years ago for testing and never got rid of it because she never finished it, so she kept the blood." Reisen yawned.

"Negligence, got it…" Aya nodded.

"Watch it." Eirin's voice had an edge to it, a veiled threat.

"The youkai used it to poison Alice and Seija plus one human to make a vampire."

"Why are you treating the amanojaku?"

"She along with Kagerou got a stolen report back and destroyed a lot of the blood."

"Hmmhmm, name of youkai?"

"Oh, I think someone said Kageshō at some point."

"Cool, final part, the new vamp?"

"Uhh, not sure if I should say…"

"You never actually told me that Reisen." Eirin glanced over.

"Oww, my head. This like a hangover but like 10x worse…" the conversation was interrupted by Kagerou staggering out "I feel horrible how is everyone else though?" she stopped at Aya "Oh, you're here."

"Can we please not turn this into a reunion hall."

"Hey, who's the vamp?" Aya smiled at the wolf, Reisen shaking her head at Kagerou.

Kagerou missed that though, too focused on headache.

"Wha-? Oh, err junk guy said Reimu damn it my head." she shook her head, brain fried from the 'donation' yesterday causing a slight lack of blood.

"Rei...wait really?" a quick nod "Kay, got it. Oh this story's gonna be a weird/good one." her smirk made Reisen cringe.

She was treating this a little too casually.

"Okay, thanks for the info. Now, is the rash cuz of the poison?" she asked, leaning back.

"Yes."

"Huh, this situation is not the best is it?"

"No it's not…" Reisen sighed.

In the other room, Marisa stirred. Despite sleeping near 13 hours, she felt awful. Maybe the long sleep was the reason? It's possible. She attempted to sit up but found something was holding onto her. Looking down, she notice Chen still gripping her, claws digging into her clothes.

"Man, you really wanted zomeone to hol' onto, didn't ya." she whispered.

"Well, Chen has always had a small needy side." someone added from behind her.

Marisa near jumped out of her skin as she whipped her neck around, coming face to face with Ran.

"Ughah?! Godz don't do tha'." she spluttered.

"Calm down. Now, I believe it is nearing...8am. Around then anyway. I will need to leave here to arrive home at 10 by 9:30, but I plan to do a test run of my spell before than, so if possible, could you look after Chen while I am gone?"

"What, I'mma cat zitter now? It'z like I've becom' a zitter of hospital patitentz. "

"I'm going to be tracking down the youkai who did this to Chen and stole the blood. You need to remain here until this is better." she tapped Marisa's nose, making her wince "I would like knowing Chen is being looked after while injured."

"Uhh, fine." Marisa moaned.

"Now than…" Ran finished messing with the spell, the circle lighting up with multiple hundreds of arrows.

She looked at the curious witch.

"It's an object tracker. It's usually a general purpose locating spell for finding identical or similar objects. I used the youkai's blood on it, so it would track all blood outside a body. But if I refine it." with a tap and a flash, the arrow pool shrank drastically "I can track only her blood. Kagerou had injured her, so there should be a decent blood trail. Huh, it appears there is some blood here." Ran stood and walked over to the door and out of the room.

As she did, Marisa heard a bit of the conversation from the other room.

"...prised Reimu's a vamp. That'll cause pro…" the door closed.

Marisa's eye twitched.

"What…?"

Ran wandered out of the patient room, ignoring the conversation. Well, until her name was called.

"Ran, what are you doing?" Reisen asked.

"Give me a second." she opened the cool box, spotting spots of blood "Well it works." she tapped the arrow that read zero, it disappearing "I'm tracking the youkai's blood. There are a few drops here, and suppository close outside. Kagerou injured her, so there should be a trail. I will pay for Chen's treatment when she is ready for pick up." Ran said leaving, staring at the spell.

Aya nodded.

"O-kay that Kage whatever is probably certainly dead. So, more la vamp de Reimu." she smirked at Reisen.

"I don't know an awful lot, apart from it happening yesterday and she's at the Scarlets." Reisen sighed.

"Guess I'll have to ask her." Aya moaned "She hates interviews though. UHHHH, it'll be like pulling teeth."

"Mainly because every single interview you've done with her has been messed with to an impossibly large degree." Kagerou sneered "I don't know her very well, met her once, and even I know some of that stuff you write is bulls**t."

Aya clapped her hands together "Shut up."

"Can I azk to make zure I'm not inzan', did you say Reimu'z a vampire…?" the room turned and spotted a pale Marisa.

"First Ran spills it to the fairies and now Reisen/Aya double team to Marisa. Will Reimu actually ever get to actually tell anyone or is it going to be rumour milled to everyone first?" Kagerou shrugged.

"Ehhh…" Reisen's brain stalled.

"Don't worry, I've just finished making the cure for it. I will be heading over once it is a reasonable time to administer it." Eirin stood up from her desk, pulsing syringe in hand.

"Zooo, no one waz gonna tell m'!" Marisa looked a tiny bit pissed, okay, extremely pissed.

"Uhh, we didn't want you running off to try and get Kageshō's head on a spike?" Reisen suggested.

"Zhe'z probably freckin' out!"

"She's probably calmed down by now."

"How long haz zhe been there?"

"Probably yesterday morning?" Reisen guessed.

"I waz there around then gettin' the crap knocked outta me by Patchy!" Marisa lamented.

"Calm yourself Marisa. It will be fine." Eirin scowled, walking over "I'm the doctor here. Now please go back in and rest. When I return from the Scarlets I will think of something to help with your nose."

Marisa huffed, a frown on her face before returning to the patient room, sitting down next to Chen as the door closed.

Eirin sighed and sat down, grabbing the bloodied medical report. She wanted to read the extra part at the end she had forgotten to transcribe to the copy. Aya twirled her pencil in her finger.

"Can I leave soon?" she asked after a minute.

Reisen felt her forehead.

"Nhhh, maybe around lunchtime. Just to make sure you don't relapse back into your flu."

"Got it."

A clatter made the group jump as Eirin shot to her feet, eyes wide.

"Oh gods no!" she sprinted out of the surgery, pages and syringe in hand.

"What was that?" Kagerou wondered.

"I don't know…"

* * *

 **Scarlet devil mansion**

Reimu opened her eyes and sat up, feeling a bit clammy. Uhhhh what's that warm lump. Reimu looked down to find Sanae asleep on her lap, and Flandre hugging her leg. They were all on Flandre's queen sized bed. Although she can't exactly remember how they fell asleep, pretty sure it wasn't like this. Reimu attempted to wiggle her way out but found Sanae adjusting herself to stay on her.

"Nwooo, Kanako...sleepy…" she mumbled flipping onto her side.

 _Unnn, Sanae, get off..._

Reimu hopped over more, Sanae falling off her. That left the vice grip vampire on her leg. Reimu attempted to scrap her off, failing completely as Flandre only tightened her grip. That's when she noticed the fact that Flandre was chewing her skirt, fangs gnawing away at the fabric. Carefully, Reimu attempted to move Flandre's head with soft pokes, ending in the girl opening her mouth and biting her finger off.

"MMMMHHHH!" Reimu suppressed a scream as she wretched Flandre off her.

With a quick hop, she flew into the air and held her mouth as the finger released spurts of blood in time to her pulse. It leaked blood until the pain faded and the digit started to heal. Vampirism, saving fingers from hunger vampires since 27 AG.

 _Okay ow. Okay, okay. What time is it?_ She spots a grandfather clock _8:10. A bit early._

Sanae rose up as she read the clock, yawning as Reimu landed.

"Mmm, hi Reimu, good morning." she rubbed her messy hair, fixing her frog clip "Where's my snake?" she asked noticing the absent band.

"I don't know."

Flandre sat up and spat out some bones, flesh and blood free.

"My does my mouth taste like Remilia…" she stuck out her tongue, frowning.

"Because you ate my finger."

"Did I? Sorry."

"That, isn't something you should be so casual about." Sanae grimaced as she backed away from the bones, noticing her snake band on the floor.

"Yeah, I know. As much as I want this fixed, I have to admit it helps for stuff like this." Reimu held up her hand as the finger fully healed, showing no signs of being eaten.

"Ha, yeah, that's a bit helpful. Now than, shall we go find Remilia?" Sanae suggested jumping up "She said there would be a meal in the morning."

"In a minute. First…" Reimu tapped her head.

"Wait, were you talking to…?"

"Yeah, and...heh, let's just say Patchouli was a bit off." Reimu smiled.

"See, I told you that she was wrong." Sanae puffed up her chest with a smirk.

"Yeah yeah. Now, let's find our host...after we...wait is there a place to get new clothes? I feel a bit gro-"

"Let's go!" Flandre grabbed Reimu's and Sanae's hands and dragged them out of the room.

"Hey, w-wait!"

Flandre dragged them up the stairs and out of the basement, straight towards the dining room.

 _Heh, wow, Flandre is really excitable. You know, I was expecting a psychotic murder child from all the horror stories I'd been told. Never believe rumours I guess._ Sanae thought as she was lead by the hand.

It didn't take long for her and Reimu to notice something was a bit off though. The atmosphere of the whole manor was a bit dour. Fairies milled about, not so much cleaning as searching. Than Meiling ran by, a serious expression on her face. Flandre reminded unaware, humming away as the two shrine maidens looked at each other. Then Remilia came into view, looking upset with Sakuya standing beside her. Well, struggling to stand. She looked like she was forcing herself to stand straight, eye twitching in pain. Remilia noticed them.

"Oh Flan."

"Hi Remilia! Hmm, what's wrong?" she asked finally noticing the different atmosphere.

Remilia inhaled.

"A youkai broke into our home last night. One youkai with a love for vampire blood."

"What?! Do you mean the-"

"Yes, the very one. She wished to obtain more vampire blood from Lady Remilia or Lady Flandre. Possible even you. I repealed her of course, but her injured my back with her tail. It has a sharp spike at it's tip." Sakuya added turning.

Her outfit had a bandage around her lower back, a red stain at its center.

"The fairies and Meiling are searching for anything or even herself, but nothing yet." Remilia growled.

"She fled into a shadow like gap. There is no trac-" "Well I can have them look!" Remilia snapped, Sakuya flinching briefly.

Remilia looked away.

"(Sigh) Enough about that. Patchy's at the table already and Sakuya can finish the food by cooking it with easy. Come on." Remilia gestured them to follow, the group compiling.

As they walked, Reimu noticed Sakuya walking lopsided, keeping weight off her left side. So, Sakuya doesn't get time off and has to work even if injured? Slave driver much Remilia? As they arrived, Sakuya bowed, wincing, before disappearing.

"Remilia, shouldn't you let Sakuya rest if she's hurt?" Sanae asked as they entered.

"I told her to take a day off. She can afford one day if it helps her help faster but nope. She is the head maid. She can't stop for even a day lest the fairies revolt or something."

"Makes you realise how much Remilia cares about Sakuya. Last night you should have heard her. 'Who. Hurt. Sakuya. Take a day at least, I can't have my maid cripping herself.'" Patchouli commented from her seat.

"Hey Patchy~...quiet." Remilia ordered with a sweet voice.

"Was it loud last night?" Reimu rubbed her neck "I didn't hear anything."

"My room's soundproof and underground." Flandre noted.

"Yeah, that would dampen it a bit." Sanae nodded.

"You all running around would have been another thing to keep track off."

As they sat, Sakuya appeared with two teapots. She poured tea from one into Patchouli and Sanae, before pouring Remilia, Flandre and Reimu's from the second.

"The food will be ready within 10 minutes." she announced.

Reimu looked down at the tea. Red tinged again. More blood tea. Uhh, she didn't want to drink that again. But it was better than drinking it...raw, she supposed. Reimu grabbed the cup and downed the whole thing in one go, the taste making her shudder. The sooner this is fixed the better. As she put the cup down she looked around the room. Flandre was hopping up and down talking, Sanae smiling away nodding. She was enjoying all the extra attention it seemed. Sanae hanging around is nice she guessed. It at least helped with her panic inducing fears courtesy of Patchouli. But now there was a new worry. Not so much to her than to everyone else. That youkai who did this was here. In the mansion. So close to her. She could have confronted her. Talked to her... **yelled at her. Vented at her, HURT HE-**

Reimu's shook her head, gasping in air. Unknowing, she had dug her nails into the table and was clawing out a chunk. Okay, that wasn't pleasant, what was that? Is it that anger from Copy leaking out. How did she describe it the first time...some of her leaking out due to the old blood? Close enough. She needs to keep a handle on that. No blowing up in people's faces. The food should be ready soon righ-

Everyone stopped talking as Eirin charged into the room, looking frantic. That fact alone made a knot form in her gut. Why did Eirin look so worried? She scanned the room before running over to Reimu.

"When did you get turned?!" she asked kneeling down to her.

"What?"

"When did you get infected with vampirism?!"

"Wh-wha-? I don't know, yesterday morning or something. Like early morning why?!"

"No, nonnonono…" she stood and began pacing before pulling out a bloody bundle of paper "I found that past the 18 hour mark the cure used on human tissue infected with hemomorphic arcanteria stops responding favourable. Only 50% of tested tissue is healed, the other half perished. Once 24 hours has passed, 100% of tissue is unresponsive. As of this date, no concocted medicine can safely remove the microbe past this point." Eirin read off.

"Eirin, what do you mean, what is that?" Sanae asked, her breath hitching.

"This is the report stolen by the youkai, the full one recovered from her. There is no more to this study I did after that point. So it means...Reimu, as far as I know, there...is no cure for you anymore. That time has passed."

Reimu's mind slowed to a crawl, and with it, the world seemed to stop. Colour almost looked like it was draining away. She didn't realise the noise she was making, or the face she held. It looked akin to a fish gasping in air. The sound a dying beast. She couldn't think. The world seemed to be crushing her. This...this feeling. What is it? So oppressive, final. A feeling of hope fading like a flame in a sealed jar. No, she knew the feeling. It could be summed up in a single word.

Despair.

Despair…

" **NNNNNGGGGGHHHHHAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"**

The cry seemed to shake the room.

A death knell for lost humanity.

* * *

AN: After the long chapter, a shorter one. Because last chapter was stupidly long.

So new chapter, I've had the last three days off so I could write in peace. So the next chapter may be very long as well for the sole reason being I've actually written the end of the story a while ago and the next chapter will have everything leading up to the last two chapters I've already finished in it. You may think this is a bad idea, but I wrote it like a month and a half ago because I planned out the ending exactly and wanted to write in case I forgot anything and if I need to change anything in them well, with them written I can modify them easily.

Final bit, I never planned to have Reimu cured. This was always going to happen. In one way or another.

Review, pm, I'm tired and going to sleep even if it's daytime.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16: No more hiding

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

Reimu's scream was blood chilling. The poor girl stood and screamed again, tears leaking out of her eyes. She was clawing at her head, accidentally slicing up her head, but the cuts healed faster then she inflicted them. Eirin attempted to grab her shoulder but Reimu backed away, trembling.

"NO! YOU'RE WRONG!" she screeched "You have to be!"

"Reimu, I'm sorry, but there is-" "NO!" she staggered over to the wall as she lost her balance.

"Reimu!" Sanae jumped out of her chair and ran over, Flandre following.

"No, it can't be true. There has to be a way to fix this. Y-You said that-that some stuff you watched had cures in it, what are they?!" Reimu grabbed onto Sanae, the girl holding in a yell as Reimu's grip threatened to snap her arms.

"A-Ah, those are just fictional stories, anime and manga and games, they wouldn't work in real life." Sanae explained.

"Y-Your miracles! What about them?! Use them now, please!"

"T-They don't work like that. It would take awhile to charge one for something like this and I've never used them for things like this, with disease and stuff."

"T-There has to be something, it can't be just 24 hours or poof, you're done! T-There has to be something! Patchouli?! Eirin?!" she looked between them, her eyes pleading.

"I found nothing yesterday, I finished every book I had on it before bed." Patchouli stated.

"I'm sorry Reimu. Although I didn't finish my research 50 years ago, the parts I didn't finish were on the effects of the blood on different beings and the effects of the poisoning on the body. All cures were the ones I found that worked, nothing else did." Eirin explained.

"Reimu, what's wrong. You get to be my sister forever now!" Flandre cheer, the situation flying over her head.

"Nonononononono…" Reimu released Sanae and started sobbing, her emotions running haywire.

She couldn't handle it, this can't be real! No, not like this! She...SHE…!

"I don't want to be a monster!" she cried, an aura of electric energy arcing out of her.

Eirin and Sanae ducked, avoiding it as Flandre blocked it with her hand, throwing it aside. Free from anyone's grip (or more not gripping anyone herself), Reimu sprinted out of the room, knocking the door off its hinges as she ran through it.

"Reimu come back!" Sanae ran after her, Flandre left confused in their wake.

The rooms electrified air calmed after a brief pause.

"Well she handled that well." Remilia sighed with a shrug.

"She doesn't appear to be emotional stable." Eirin added.

"I wonder why?" Patchouli rolled her eyes.

"Well, let's leave her to the other shrine maiden. So, doctor, why so early?" Remilia leaned back in her chair.

"After finishing the cure this morning, I decided to read the recovered document to see if anything was missing from the version we gave to here. The part about the cure not working was missing. If I had known, I could have made it earlier and we wouldn't be at this part of the mess. Upon reading that part, I rushed here, flying as fast as possible, hoping that it wasn't too late." Eirin rubbed her forehead.

"What's wrong with Reimu? She can be my sister forever now." Flandre asked.

"Lady Flandre." Sakuya walked over, uneasy on her feet "Reimu wanted a way to become human again. She didn't choose to be a vampire. If she had a way to return to human she would have had a choice on whether to stay a vampire or cure herself. She no longer has a choice. This is a big shock to her. She's not upset about being your sister, she's sad that she has no choice in the matter." Sakuya attempted to put the reason together in a way that wouldn't upset Flandre.

It...didn't work.

"I don't get it, why would being my sister make her sad."

"No, Flan, that's not what's making her sad-" Remilia stopped mid sentence as Patchouli hopped out of her chair and walked over to Flandre.

She grabbed her hand.

"It's complicated Flandre. Your sister and Sakuya most likely want to talk to Eirin right now about Sakuya's back, so let's go find Reimu and Sanae and calm her down, okay?" she smiled.

The blond girl looked up at the mage before nodding, the two walking off.

"I will return in a moment." Sakuya added as she vanished as well.

"Oh this morning is amazing. So much excitement." Remilia laughed ruefully.

"May I ask about the maid's bandage?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah. Last night the youkai that made this mess broke in here and fought Sakuya. She hurt her back, nasty cut. We bandaged it with the orange liquid stuff. I told her to take a day off but nope, no breaks allowed according to her."

"She's limping, I would like to check on it when she returns-"

Sakuya appeared.

"The food is ready and being left warm in the oven." she announced.

"Cool, let Eirin examine you." Remilia ordered.

"Er? Oh, as you wish."

* * *

 **Elsewhere in the mansion**

Reimu was running. She didn't know where. The layout of the whole place was confusing. Running won't help her. She knows it won't. Nothing could help her. She's stuck like this, forever! She's a vampire, forever! What's going to happen to her? Everyone in the village is gonna hunt her down to kill her! And now she'll need to drink blood forever, everyone she knows who's human is going to die via age as she stuck like this. Even some of the youkai she knows could die at some point, while she lives on because her vampirism wouldn't let her die. Vampire's don't age right?! She'll look like this forever! Forever, that word is now a fact of life to her. What will she do now?! Can't be a shrine maiden now, can't even take Copy's joke advice to go to Sanae's shrine. A youkai hunter? Youkai don't really act up anymore sans incidents. Help resolve incidents as they happen? What would she do in between them? Her life is ruined! She-She can't-!

Reimu tripped on nothing. She didn't attempt to save herself. Straight to the floor, a heavy thud as her hit the carpeted wooden floor. Laying there, she started crying again. It was too much. Make it stop. Please make it stop…

Anyone, please. Stop the ride. Reimu wants off...just make this whole thing stop…

Reimu was too distracted to hear someone walk up behind her. She sobbing was ugly. Face scrunched, eyes shut. The occasional wail. Gasping and shaking.

"Reimu." someone grabbed her shoulder.

Reimu didn't move. After a few tugs they lifted her up to a sitting position. She opened her eyes and saw a hazy head of green. Without saying anything, she latched onto Sanae. Her grip was near crushing her. But Sanae didn't speak.

The two just sat there, Reimu holding onto her as tears continued falling.

* * *

 **Outside Eientei, earlier.**

Ran exited Eientei, spell in hand and looked around. There were five arrows all pointing in different directions, some more than others. One was fairly close by. With a quick look glance around, Ran wandered off the path, into the bamboo. The near arrow was acting a bit odd though as she looked at it. It was changing distance rapidly, staying in the same direction. It may be a trail instead of pool of blood. Or possibly on something moving. Ran pushed her way through the tall stalks, her vision filled with green. It was getting closer…

Ran broke out into a small clearing, damaged bamboo in front of her. She looked around, spotting a few specks of old dried blood. The brown stains were near the colour of dirt. They trailed off through the damaged stalks.

"Hmm, most likely too old, but I should investigate." she whispered following the specks.

It didn't take long before she realised where she was, a cave on the side of the thinned stalks.

 _This is where Seija and Kagerou were._

The flickering trail had led her here. She tapped it and it disappeared. Four more. Ran flew up into the air, holding the spell level to her chest. From the look of it, one was in the forest of magic, one was near the village, the third...from the distance reading and the direction...Kourindou? And the final one, the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Hmm, interesting selection. From her position, the two closest were the forest of magic and Kourindou. If she checked those two and then returned home, she would be early, but also make sure Yukari is awake. Than she could check the one near the village, which from the look of it was on the plain in Gensokyo's center. The final one to check would be the SDM, although it is odd that Kageshō supposedly bled there. Spell in hand, Ran sped off towards the forest.

It didn't take long to zone in on the signal, and there was no looking for it. A large smear of blood on the ground and trees, and speaking of trees, several were felled. Ran landed and looked around.

"A fight happened here. This may be were those two fought her."

Ran noticed something unnatural in one blood pool and walked over. A blood bag and satchel, damaged. Yep, this is the area of the fight. Three to go. Ran tapped the arrow reading zero and flew off towards the nearest one, Kourindou. It took her only 5 minutes to reach it. She landed and walked inside.

The place was near the same as yesterday, save for the lack of dropped junk that was by the door.

"Hello?"

"Humf? Uhh early, is it Reimu again…?" Rinnosuke rose from behind his counter, spotting Ran "No, it's worse." he added under his breath.

"Is that really how you should treat those who come to your shop?"

"As long as there's a chance they'll not cause grief, no. But you, Marisa, Reimu, Yukari, any fairy...I know will cause something to happen." He explained leaning onto the counter.

"A fair assessment, now, have you seen any blood stains around your shop?"

Rinnosuke opened his mouth to speak, but paused before nodding.

"Yes actually. I noticed it yesterday after the three of you left." he stood and opened his store room door.

Ran walked over and looked over his head as he pointed. In the corner, resting on dust were specks of blood, but on the side where the portal had been, a streak on red snaked up the shelves. Something bleeding had been dragged up along it it looked like.

"There was a bit here too on some rags but I burned them because I thought is was something I used to clean up a one point and forgot to get rid of." Rinnosuke explained.

"I see, thank you. Now than…" she tapped the arrow reading zero.

"What's that?" he asked as she wandered out and around the counter.

"A spell tracking Kageshō, the youkai I was looking for yesterday's blood. It read five locations and now I've checked three. Two more in hope there will be a clue to track her there."

"Hmm, interesting. Hope you catch her." Rinnosuke smiled.

Ran walked out without answering, making the man just a sigh.

* * *

 **Yakumo residents**

Yukari stirred in her bed, yawning. She glanced at the clock on the wall. 9am...too early. But in one hour Ran should be back, so she needs to get up. Yukari slowly rose from her bed, surprised that she didn't collapse back down. Kageshō and Reimu, blood on the loose and Chen hurt. Sleep can wait a day or two until this is sorted out. It did take her a bit long to prepare and dress herself, her movement sluggish. She donned her 'work' attire, more suited for wandering around Gensokyo looking for a youkai. She needed to be ready in case she stumbled upon the shadow youkai. For this is a hunt for one who is too dangerous to just leave to her own devices. From the battleground she found yesterday, Yukari could guess that most if not all the blood was destroyed, but you can't be too careful. Kageshō may still have blood and it would be embarrassing to end up like Alice. Although Yukari doubted she'd end up anyway nearly as bad as the puppeteer. As Yukari donned her mop cap, the front door opened. A quick glance out her door showed Ran walking in, some magic spell in hand. Yukari exited her room.

"My, you're early. I did say you could stay with Chen and return by 10. It's barely 9:30." Yukari smirked as her shikigami frowned.

"As much as I'd like to, I think finding Kageshō is more important. I see you've dressed appropriately." Ran pointed out "Planning on helping?"

"I was helping and investigating quite a bit yesterday. I wasn't expecting to find something like this happening when I visited the shrine yesterday morning and the fairy yelled 'find Reimu!' before fleeing. But today I hope we will catch a little thief, and so, I wish to be ready."

"Got it. Now, Lady Yukari, look at this." Ran held up the spell.

Yukari examined it. It appeared to a locating spell, refined by several magnitudes with an orb of dried blood as a focus. Two arrows with numbers below them pointed in different directions.

"Are you tracking this blood?"

"This is Kageshō's blood. I'm locating any blood that isn't in her body. I've checked three locations already. The first in Eientei, small specks in their cooler. A trail outside within the bamboo forest lead to the cave you found Seija in and the third was some blood in Rinnosuke's closet. One of the last two appears to be within the center plain in Gensokyo and the second in the Scarlet's home." Ran reported, Yukari nodding.

"I see. You keep the spell and find the one on the plain, I will go to the mansion. Both to check on Reimu and to find this blood. If possible, check on the village. You said Keine knew about Reimu. See if she has told the villagers and if there is any extra info. Knowing the humans they've seen something and just forgot about it."

"Yukari, they aren't that bad."

"Yes, I know. They're sometimes worse." she smiled as she entered a gap "Come find me after you check that location, especially if you have a lead on the girl." the gap closed.

Ran shook her head and left the house, sighing.

* * *

Yukari stepped out of her gap into the dining room with the manor. Always a good place to start. Although the scene she gapped into was a little different to how she was expecting it to look. Eirin was stitching a wound closed on Sakuya's back with a needle and thread as Remilia watched.

"Well, this is different from normal." Yukari remarked with a smile.

"Well, when your maid gets hurt at 1 in the morning and you're a vampire or mage that don't really know how to fix a human body that's wounded, when doctor comes to your home, you take advantage of it." Remilia spat looking at the sage "Come to see Reimu? You're going to have to find her."

"Did something happen, apart from the maid's wound?"

"Oh not much really. First thing, the youkai appeared later at night, injured Sakuya. Second, Eirin showed up saying that Reimu is stuck as a vampire because 24 hours have passed. She did not take it well." Remilia pointed to the damaged door.

"I see, that makes things go from messy and awkward to messy and complicated. A new shrine maiden was already most likely needed and now we have the former one permanently a vampire. Joy. But now, a bit of business. Did the intruder bleed last night?" Yukari asked Sakuya.

"Yes, she was stabbed by several knives."

"I see, that explains that reading than. That only leaves the one Ran is chasing. Hopefully she's there." Yukari muttered to herself "Well, enjoy your stitches, I'm going to find Reimu."

She turned on her heels and walked out of the room.

Yukari didn't have the foggiest idea were Reimu was. The mansion was absurdly large. Guess she'll have to cheat. With a snap, a gap opened at eye level. Throughout the large building, gaps tore open. Glancing into her gap, Yukari could see hundreds of holes within. She was looking for, or at least listening for, any sign of the new vampire. And soon, she heard sobbing. Good start. Yukari expanded the gap and stepped in, finding and exiting the sobbing gap. She was at the end of a corridor, with Reimu in the middle holding onto Sanae. As she approached, Sanae noticed her and Patchouli plus Flandre rounded a corner, changing the lone pair to a group of five. Yukari crouched down to her, Reimu looking up. Yukari pulled a handkerchief from a gap rubbed away her tears, clearing Reimu's vision enough for her to see her pity-filled smile.

"(Sniff) I guess you d-don't have a w-way to fix this…?" she pleaded.

"If I did I would have used it when I found you by the misty lake."

"Figures…"

"May I make a suggestion?" everyone looked at Patchouli "Since you will be remaining a vampire, you have access to a large amount of magic potential. You will be capable of learning spells with some ease, as long as you are not as stubborn and uncooperative as Remilia. There is a spell that shields the recipient from the sun. Original used as protection in deserts, it has an interesting effect on vampires. It protects them from sunlight. If you like, I can attempt to teach you it." the librarian folded her arms, a small smirk appearing.

"Wha…?"

"As long as you keep track of time, you could recast it to allow yourself to exist in the sun."

"Huh?! Why wasn't I taught that!" Flandre pouted stomping her foot.

"Because Remilia doesn't want you going out alone."

"Isn't that nice Reimu? Maybe you can learn some magic from Marisa and help in her heists." Yukari joked.

"I will find a way to somehow remove your knowledge of the spell if you do that."

Sanae stood up and held out a hand.

"That sounds fun, right?" she smiled.

She...still wasn't fine. Who knows how long it would be until she felt better. Maybe never? Who knows. But…

" _ **but remember that you have people that for some reason like to hang around you and will help you."**_

Heh...thanks Keine…

* * *

 **Eientei**

Not much happened after Eirin ran out of Eientei. Reisen quickly recovered from her shock, looked at the time and grabbed some leaves to grind them.

"Whatcha making?" Aya asked walking over.

"I'm starting on making more of the cure for the poisoning. Myself and master were up until late last night making a lot of it, but master said it needs to be injected fairly regularly starting this morning, so I'm making more. There should be enough for until she gets back, but might as well practice." Reisen shrugged.

"Oh yeah, how are they doing?" Kagerou asked as the pieces clicked in her head through the haze.

"As far as we can tell, Seija is handling the poison better and as such is reacting better to the detoxification. The shot I gave her at 6 this morning reacted pretty well. Regular shots over a few days should undo the discolouration in her skin and allow her to recover her lost strength. Alice will take longer. The vampire cure undid a large amount of the corruption, giving her body a chance to breathe. She'll probably need treatment for minimum a week before she's even close to being well." Reisen explained as she finished the greenery and grabbed more.

"Hey, that's good news then." Aya commented writing it all down "Plenty of material to write a full paper."

"I'm glad." Kagerou sighed.

"Hmm, why?"

"Because despite all the stupid stuff that she spews, I think Seija could be decent if someone bothers to beat all the hate fueled crap out of her. There's been worse people that have been turned around."

"Who?" Aya asked.

Kagerou opened her mouth before freezing. Ehh, come on...think.

"The Scarlets weren't well liked."

"They still aren't by a lot of people. Reimu and co just like hanging out with them sometimes." Reisen corrected.

"Junko?"

"The moon wants her dead and Gensokyo didn't want her so much that someone from hell dragged her down there to live with them." Aya shrugged.

"That door goddess?"

"She's at most Yukari level of tolerated, plus she didn't trick an inchling into unleashing a wish granting mallet so she could steal some of the magic for herself while attempting to overthrow the 'hierarchy' of Gensokyo which also made several tsukumogami. Didn't that mess with you too?"

"Screw both of you I'm getting her well liked!"

"Are you that bored? Or is it…?" Resien asked.

"Shut it…" Kagerou pouted.

Inside the patient room, Marisa was reading a book off one the sheaves in the corner. Problem was it was a kids book. She heard someone groan to her left, Clownpiece stirring. At first, she seemed confused, before noticing the missing Aya.

"Oh no! The doctor lady said watch the reporter and now she's gone! Ohhh…" she yanked her hat down over her eyes.

"Zhe'z talkin' to Reizen out there." Marisa pointed to the door.

"Huh, oh Marisa. Uhh, when can I go home?" she wondered.

"You're not zick, zo anytime?"

"Huh?! Than why was I forced to run around and help yesterday?"

"Cuz the doc waz zwamped probably. And from wha' they were zayin' out there, it waz a mezz. Even I waz helping."

"Uhh." Clownpiece huffed, before looking around her and stopping on Seija "Why is the mean oni girl here?"

"Pretty zure zhe'z not an oni." Marisa shrugged.

"I-I'mma youkai." Seija corrected holding up her darkened hand.

Marisa glanced at CLownpiece with a grin and walked over to Alice.

"Doezn't look like zhe'z gonna wake up for awhile." she crouched down and examined her skin with a touch, the purple parts feeling cold.

"I can tell you how it feels though. I-It sucks. Pain everywhere." Seija moaned.

"Probably better than zhe zleepz through it." as Marisa spoke, Alice shifted and groaned, clearly in pain while sleeping.

The door to the room opened, Reisen walking in with two syringes.

"Dose number two for today." she whispered as she reached Seija.

"H-How long do I need to stay here?" she asked as Reisen grabbed her hand and injected it into the original injection point.

"If you're lucky, 3 days."

"Kill me than this torture."

"Sure, we got something for that." Reisen smiled as she injected the second into Alice.

"W-Wait what?"

"Joking, just bear with it, you're lucky you're getting treatment." Reisen walked over to Chen, taking a bottle out of her pocket "I'm sorry, but I need to give you more painkillers Chen." she rubbed her arm, waking the cat girl.

"Hmm…?" she sat up, freezing up as the pain in her leg shot up her spine, triggering her to start wailing.

"Wahhh! It hurts! M-More than yesterday!" she cried, tears running down her cheeks.

"Don't worry, this medicine acts fast." she patted her back before pouring a spoonful.

"Yeah, and Ran told me to look after ya until zhe getz bac'." Marisa smirked.

"R-Ran was here…?" Reisen fed her the liquid.

"Yes she was, stormed into her yesterday in a panic." Reisen added.

"Ran doesn't panic." Chen frowned as the pain weakened a bit.

"I get the feelin' zhe doez when it involvez you." Marisa sat down next to her "Zo as your cat zitter, wha' do ya want to do? They've zo kid bookz."

"Uhh...I wanna play, but my leg…"

"I can ask the rabbits if they have a shogi or chess board if you want?" Reisen suggested.

"I'm not really good at that kind of thing." Chen muttered.

"Neither am I, zo we can zuck at it together." Marisa smiled, Chen's expression lighting a bit.

Reisen walked out of the room, Chen and Marisa chatting away.

"So can I leave or…" Clownpiece asked no one, looking around.

"Sure, why the hell not?" Seija commented.

* * *

 **Tracking fox**

Ran flew straight towards the arrow, watching the number rapidly fall. Soon she was near the village, and remembered Yukari's order.

 _Well, time to check on the humans._

Ran slowed herself and descended into the village outskirts, outside the surrounding fence. As she walked towards the center, she noticed several humans take notice of her and back away. Odd, they normally don't mind her. As she arrived at the entrance, two men stepped in front of her, both wielding...spears. Or rather old looking blades bound to long wooden handles with rope. It looked ridiculous.

"H-Hail! Or stop, ehh, yeah. What do you want?" the first asked, clearly not ready to be at his post.

Ran walked up to the man, or would boy be appropriate? He looked barely 20, Ran standing a head over him.

"I wish to speak with your head teacher. I am a servant Yukari Yakumo, sage of Gensokyo. Now move aside."

The guard backed away, his partner following. If the village was attempting to beef up security, they chose these two poorly. Ran passed them by and walked towards the school house. Keine was standing in front of the gate, scanning around her as a mother brought a boy to her, who was quickly passed off to a man who brought the child in. Mokou was leaning against the low fence, looking bored. She raised an eyebrow at Ran.

"Hey Keine, fox." she pointed, Keine looking over as well.

Ran approached the two. Several more people were shying away.

"Did something happen?"

"Not so much something as more Keine had a little talk with the village about something." Mokou pointed to her bloody bandaged wrist.

"Kageshō?" Ran guessed.

"Yes, and it has sent the village into lock-down. With volunteers as extra guards and youkai questioning. She was also most likely involved with the murder of a village child, so it really upset a lot of people as you can imagine." Keine explained.

"I see, she appears to be attempting to break as many laws as possible it seems...also, you should change the front entrance guards. They are not the best suited."

"I know, but the Elder's grandson and his friend 'needed' an important job they said." Keine sighed.

"Which is why I suggested they should guard the cesspit." Mokou joked.

"I've sent a message to the tengu village and hope to replace them with a wolf tengu if possible, if they've a spare."

"You'll most likely get a young inexperienced one, if any." Ran warned.

"Better than those two."

"So, what's the magic?" Mokou stood up.

"A locating spell. I'm tracking any of Kageshō's blood that is outside her body. One is the SDM and the other is on the central plain. Yukari is at the Scarlets."

"Hmm, I believe a few families left the village years ago and built homes on the plain, but after their line died they were left abandoned." Keine dredged up memories of the old movement requests from years ago.

"So, a place a wanted youkai may hide…"

"Do you think she's…?"

"I don't know, I'm going to check now, along with any homes I spot afterwards. If she is there, it will be dangerous. Keep all humans away until I return with news." Ran ordered, turning.

"Hey, want a hand?" Mokou walked up to her.

"You are needed here most likely."

"Isn't it better to have backup. What happens if you can't handle her?"

"I find that comment insulting." Ran glared at the immortal.

"Isn't it better to have backup and not need it than go and near get killed and wish you had brought some?" Mokou shot back.

Ran continued glaring before sighing. As annoying as they were yesterday, Kagerou and Seija did…'help'. And after she left they fought her. Help, wasn't the worst idea ever.

"Fine, but you will listen to me and obey any commands I give. If she is there, I don't want her escaping. We are also not to kill her, despite how much I want to. Yukari wants her alive."

"Aye aye commander." Mokou sneered with a grin.

"Take this seriously."

"Okay." Mokou dropped the smile, frowning.

Ran jumped into the air and sped off, Mokou following with a burst of flames.

"Ehh…" someone made a noise and made Keine turn "What was that?" the woman asked.

"Hopefully the youkai's doom." she responded.

* * *

Ran sped away from the village, the number on the spell falling fast. Soon she's speeding along the mostly flat plain, the rare house visible, sticking out among the green. Than she stops, the number near zero. Below her, a small rotting wood home. Mokou slows to a stop beside her.

"That the house?"

"Yes, but we must be careful. The tracking only works on the xz axis and the house appears to have two stories and possible a basement." Ran warned.

"Wait?"

"In a 3D field there is the x, the y, and the z axis. Y denotes height. This spell is reading the xz axis' of the blood, showing that it is in the home, but it could be up or down from that point as it doesn't read y. So…" Ran floated over a bit, the number hitting zero "It could be at any point up or down from here." Ran held up the spell.

"Okay, got it. So plan?"

"We enter the building silently, and move to the 0 point. If there is no blood, we check any area above it. If not there, we attempt to locate a way down. Do not land, only hover, as the old wood may creak, and do not make any noise if possible."

"Okay, full stealth." Mokou nodded.

The two descended to the house, and found the old door locked with a rusted dead bolt. It would make an unholy amount of noise if moved. Ran floated up to the second floor and spotted a hole. She waved Mokou over and the two entered.

The house was decrepit. Old wood supports held up the roof, which was starting to fall away, creating patches of light. An old chair, looking like it had been partially eaten sat in the corner. The rest of the room lacked much of anything, only a bookcase on its side adding to the room. Moldy wood bits lay on the floor along a hole with a ladder connecting it to the ground floor. Ran moved to the 0 point, and saw no blood. She pointed down and Mokou floated over to the hole, lowering herself into the open area. The walls had long collapsed, making it one big room with a few bending beams holding up the second floor. The smell was vile, seeming to emanate from the small rubble piles. There was nothing in the space except a rusted metal pump near a counter, most likely the kitchen. Ran moved to the 0 point. Nothing. Mokou looked along the ground as Ran shook her head. The room was in a dark twilight due to the windows being a mix of boarded up or dirty. She summoned a flame, using it to look. Ran waved at her and drew a line on her neck. Mokou rolled her eyes and crushed the flame, the light fading. Instead, Ran used the spell as a light, scanning the floor. She stopped at a slightly raised lip with an iron ring. Mokou joined her as they looked at each other. Ran held up three fingers and then made a yanking gesture at the ring. She then added her opening her hand and pointed at Mokou. She responded with a tiny flame on her finger tip, Ran nodding. Ran bent down and grabbed the ring with her free hand, holding up the fingers under the spell. She lowered a finger. She lowered the second. She lowered the third and yanked at the ring, the trapdoor wailing in protest. Mokou jumped down the hole and ignited a large flame that lit the basement up. And in the dancing shadows, something backed away, shocked.

Ran followed the immortal.

"H-How the f**k-?! Who are you two?!" Kageshō shrieked as she hit the stone wall behind her.

In the light, Ran spotted a patch of blood on the floor and several small holes in Kageshō's polo shirt, dried blood around them. The glint of a silvery knife sat in the corner.

"Are you Kageshō? On the order of Yukari Yamuko, sage of Gensokyo, I'm here to capture you and bring you to her." Ran stepped forward, a shadow covering her from the fire themed backlight.

"No...how did you find me, I'm in a rotting house in the middle of nowhere?! I choose this specifically because there would be no reason the look here!" the youkai shouted, standing.

"You cannot run. You cannot hide. Although I can't kill you as Yukari wants you alive, I will resort to bring back your broken body if I must. You do not partake in spell cards I have been told, so I will leave you beaten and begging for mercy as I drag you to your doom." Ran threaten, throwing the spell away, the orb of blood and spell circle cutting through the wood.

"Tch, no spell cards, just like the old days of me and Kaguya metaphorically and physically ripping each other's heads off than. Sounds fun." Mokou added, the flame growing larger.

"Yeah, not happening!" Kageshō opened a portal and jumped for it, but Mokou was faster.

Well, her fire was faster.

She shot a gout of fire, the stream scorching the stone and removing the shadowy gap. Kageshō retaliated with a barrage of dark bullets, the sheer number allowing them to fill the small room. The fire's light weakened them though, making them lose their 'edge', lacking a harming potential and instead simply knocking the two back. She aimed up and shot a hole in the roof, jumping up.

"STOP HER!" Ran yelled flying up, Mokou incinerating the left over bullets as she dodged them, failing to notice the left over flames licking the rotted wood.

Kageshō landed on the ground floor and made three constructs, the tendrils rising as Ran appeared.

"I don't care if I have to bring this house down on you to make you piss off, I'm not dealing with you!"

Miasma leaked out of her arms as Kageshō fired two quick bolts of energy at the weak supports, the wood splintering with easy. The tendrils all lunged at Ran as the roof groaned, the weight of itself making it sag. Ran dodged one construct and blasted it apart with a single bullet to its middle, jumping back to avoid the second. The third whipped around, dragging itself on the floor, tearing up the boards. Ran caught the shadowy spike at the tip, stopping it.

"See ya never." Kageshō sniggered as she opened a new portal.

"NO!"

But the shadow youkai tripped as a hand punched through the floor and grabbed her ankle. Mokou burst up and carried the youkai to the ceiling, before throwing her down, the boards cracking from the impact. Ran tore the spike off the tendril as the second attacked again, using it to block it. She ran the spike into it, using it to cut it up as the third flailed wildly expelling darkness from its tip. The room was soon enveloped in the mist, turning it pitch black.

"Too dark, damn it too dark!" Kageshō spat as she attempted to create a shadowstep, her attempts failing.

She was silenced by a kick to the ribs courtesy of Mokou, her shirt gaining a new burn mark from the kick. The house groaned more, the floor falling away as the flames from before ate away at the supports. The roof caved in near Ran, the clatter making her back away.

"Mokou, the house is collapsing!"

"Noticed that!" she answered as she was knocked off balance by a punch to the jaw.

She let out a yelp as Kageshō's tail stabbed her neck with her tail, the sharp appendage tearing out muscle, her esophagus and nearly her windpipe.

"Gck! Noh good enouf." she taunted through a blood filled mouth.

Mokou gave her a headbutt and pumped fire directly onto her stomach, launching her back with a scream. The mist started to lessen as the roof gave way, letting it escape. Ran charged the youkai and rammed her out of the house through the wall, back into the sunlight. With relative ease, Ran threw Kageshō back, straight into an old fence, the poor thing shattering. Not waiting for even a second, Ran fired a hail of magic at the downed youkai, who jumped to the right, avoiding it. The shots tore up the ground, sending soil and burnt grass everywhere. Kageshō rolled along the ground before standing, staring at the kitsune. Mokou's flames had destroyed the bottom of her polo shirt, exposing her now red and burnt stomach. A crash erupted behind Ran as the house fell apart, an explosion blowing chunks of wood towards the two. Mokou landed beside Ran, rubbing her neck.

"Will you be fine?"

"For now, yesh."

"I can't fight in this light…" Kageshō lamented, Ran smiling.

"Than stop."

"No, never! I'm not getting dragged to that b**th to get splattered across some gods forsaken rock in the mountains!" she summoned an inky black mist around her arms and pushed it out, the light cutting out pieces as it spread. It rushed over the two, not hurting them. But as Ran walked forward, she found her movement slowed as it latched onto her. Kageshō pulled up darkness and surrounded herself in a shell, the sun carving through it within seconds of it forming. Ran and Mokou started firing bullets and fire at the shell, helping the light crack it open. Inside, Kageshō was sweating as she charged an orb of magic.

 _Ten seconds, this needs like ten seconds please!_ She begged internally as the orb grew larger.

A crack formed in the shell as light poured in.

 _Nearly there...a little more!_

The crack became more a spider web as the shell crumbled, a bullet barely missing her.

"Good enough." she whispered as her discharged the orb as a laser, the darkness spreading out as a swirling mass that blocked the sky above the three of them.

Within seconds of it finishing, light started cleaving through it, making halos of sunlight in the now dim area. Kageshō dodged another barrage running along the ground as the shots trailed behind her.

"See ya fox!" she laughed as a portal opened and she rushed into it.

"No, you are not running away again!" Ran announced as she forced herself out of the thickening mist.

She rushed the portal as it closed, grabbing the sides of it as sit shrank, barely her arm's width.

"No, NOO! I'm not letting you, get away!" she pulled at the sides of the hole, the void desperately attempting to close.

"Let go! Stop, that hurts!"

"You think I care, this probably hurts less than what you did to Chen! You have Gensokyo against you, youkai and humans alike will be after your head to mount on a wall. So you think I'm just going to stop?! Not, a, chance! Grrrraaaahhhhhh!" Ran let out a roar as she tore the gap open more, Kageshō letting out a scream.

"S-Stop-AHHHH! Y-You're ripping my s-soul!" she begged as the portal tried to pull itself closed.

"Not yet. Mokou, quickly! Anything, do you anything to hurt her!?"

Mokou escaped the mist and ran over.

"Wha-?" "Stab or cut her, to make her bleed?!"

"Oh, ehh…" she looked at her bandaged wrist "This ish gonna suck." with a sharp inhale, she grabbed her wrist and snapped it with a visceral crunch.

She tore the hand off to expose jagged bone. She drove it into the hole and Kageshō let out a pained screech as Mokou hit something soft. She pulled back as the gap snapped shut. Ran stood and snapped her fingers, the discarded spell returning to her at blinding speed. After a few seconds, a new arrow appeared.

"I need to go tell Yukari, are you alright?!" she asked as she was already leaving.

"Yeh, go!"

Ran nodded and flew into the air and bolted away. Mokou was left standing on the grass in fading shadows, blood leaking out of her as the world started to blur.

"Keine's gonna be pisshed." she joked as she collapsed, her wounds 'killing' her.

* * *

 **Along the border forest**

Kageshō gripped the sides of her escape portal as pain flared in her chest. The fox was coming dangerously close to hurting her soul and she didn't appreciate it! She was yelling something, but Kageshō was too busy to hear it. Stupid fox. Just. Let. Go-!

Jagged bone extended from the black, faster than she could react. And dug into her left eye.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" she screamed as the bone was pulled out, blood exploding from the wound.

Kageshō wretched the sides of the hole, the thing snapping shut. She staggered by, clawing at the socket.

"My eye! My f**king eye!" she cried as she fell to the soft ground, blood oozing onto the floor "It hurts! Make it stop!"

She writhed on the dirt, staining it red as she crawled away, a bloody trail behind her.

* * *

AN: We've approaching the endgame now.

So the next chapter is also near done and I need to add a bit more to the last chapter, than this is done. Well mostly, there are two EX chapters that will get written at...some point. I'm happy I managed to make it this far, and that people like this so much. And to think, this was an idea that refused to leave my head so I wrote it down to get rid of it. Weird how things go.

Also starting to think this may need an M rating with some of the stuff I'm writing, along with the next chapter...any advice on that front? Kinda worried.

I think there was something else and I've forgotten, so probably not important. And final note, I capitalised the c and b in the title because I just noticed that they weren't and it made me a bit annoyed.

Pm, review, feel bad for Reimu.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Exterminate

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

* * *

Sanae held onto Reimu as the group was brought to the library, a place Reimu felt had been getting a lot more visitors than normal. Patchouli pointed at the table Reimu and Flandre had been painting at the day before.

"I will be back soon." the mage wandered off, into the sea of books.

"Yukari, umm, what's going to happen about-?" she held up her hand, silencing Reimu.

"That can be discussed later. Now is the time for magic. You know, I could possibly teach you a thing or two myself. Actually, a better idea. Ran sleeps at night like most people and youkai, what if I need something done at night. You could be my night worker." Yukari suggested rubbing her chin.

"What? No way, why would I do that?! I like sleeping at night!"

"But you don't burn in moonlight."

"You are not taking advantage of this mess to get a new servant! I-"

The two began arguing, Reimu's volume quickly increasing, why Yukari's tone and voice stayed normal and joking. Sanae smiled. Yukari wasn't being serious, she could tell, but with Reimu as upset as she currently is, the new vampire was taking her literally and missing her tone. She was doing this to distract Reimu while Patchouli was gone to stop her slipping back into the state she was in a few minutes ago. And the shrine maiden could only laugh as Yukari brought up Reimu living with her. Angry Reimu is better than sad Reimu. Angry Reimu is also a lot more common. Sanae had never seen Reimu so upset as she had been before, and despite the annoyed yelling and shouting, her eyes still were a bit puffy from her crying. Although the glowing part was new…

"Can't I go one interaction with you without wanting to scream!" Reimu complained as Yukari shrugged.

"It was just a suggestion Reimu. I'd love to try making you into a nice little servant. Instead of a vampire with a maid, you can be a vampire maid." she suggested.

"Oh, like how she dressed up Sakuya's clothes yesterday." Flandre added.

"Don't remind her of that!"

"Oh yes, thank you for reminding me , you already have experience with wearing the outfit. This is perfect." Yukari laughed, a grin plastered on her face.

"Stop it!" Reimu yelled as a glyph formed behind her, power leaking out of it.

Before it fired, she stopped and inhaled, the magic dissipating.

 _S-Stop...breath...don't let Copy's anger out…_

After a few seconds, Yukari leaned back.

"Feel better?"

"Now I pissed off…"

"Better than moping."

"I hate you."

"Oh hey!" Flandre's eyes lit up "Now that you've figured out your powers and made those spell cards yesterday, we can play!"

"Huh? Oh yeah, you wanted to fight all of yesterday. Not right now okay." Reimu sighed, remembering Flandre's insistent begging.

Before Flandre could protest, Patchouli returned, a large book under her arm. She placed down the tome, the weight making the table wobble.

"Have you ever attempted to use spells or magic?"

Reimu shook her head "I've always just used the Hakurei's divine powers. And even than it was more do than think."

"I see, so a complete novice than. Well, as long as you don't storm off in frustration if you encounter a roadblock you should be fine. The first thing you must do is figure out how to conduct the magic within you. It isn't too hard. Although you should know this is a one time deal for this spell. I'm not an experienced teacher and I rarely have free time, so anymore will be when it suits myself or if I require help beyond my assistant, after which I will repay the help with a lesson. All of which may be an uncommon occurrence." Patchouli explained.

"Fine I guess. Marisa knows spells and stuff like this. Although probably only offensive magic..." Reimu shrugged, thinking.

She opened the book and instantly Flandre was attempting to read it. Patchouli tapped her head.

"No. Remilia already complained to me at length before bed that I told you how vampires were made, so I'd prefer not to give her more ammunition."

As they talked and Reimu shrank gazing at the large page filled with tiny words, Yukari examined it. It was a simple spell. No quick cantrip, but easy enough to figure out. It took her only a few seconds to understand. Reimu should get it within the day.

* * *

 **In front of the mansion**

Meiling walked out the front door, rubbing her eyes. She and the fairies have searched nearly the entire mansion, and she felt terrible. The lack of sleep due to last night's intrusion didn't help. The fairies were finishing off a few areas, so Meiling thought checking on the broken gate would be a decent idea, to make sure no one was wandering into her vampiric master's home. She walked over to the gate, the damaged metal still sitting on the ground from when it fell yesterday when Sanae arrived. Ugh, might as well...  
She lifted it up, the metal not terribly heavy for her and leaned it against the inside of the wall. She glanced around. Nothing unusually in sight. Well, except that small speeding object that was nearing the mansion.

Oh no...

The object quickly took on a humanoid shape, yellow hair and nine tails following it. Ran landed in front of Meiling.

"Where is Yukari?" she asked running by her through the 'open' gate.

"Hey wait, you can't just run past me!" Meiling jumped after her and grabbed Ran's arm.

"I believe I have the youkai that caused this whole mess' location and Yukari needs to know before she moves on as to confront her!"

Ran broke out her grasp and ran into the building. Meiling sprinted after her. Why is it a 50/50 split on people who listen to her or not! Keine and Sanae were considerate. Meiling ran into the front lobby, spotting Ran running off towards the library.

 _I mean it's a good guess..._

She grabbed a fairy flying by.

"Go find Lady Remilia and tell her the sage's familiar is here looking for her and has gone to the library. If Yukari is with her, make her go there so we can get her out." Meiling ordered, the ginger fairy nodding and flying off. Meiling gave chase after Ran, quickly spotting her and sprinting to catch up.

What is she going to go if she isn't there? Freak out and yell at her for not directing her to the youkai? Probably...  
Ran soon closed in on the library, Meiling finally catching up.

"Wait, please stop!" she ordered, charging a bullet and firing it at Ran.

She deflected the weak shot with a tail and turned on her heels. Before Meiling could speak, Ran punched her full force in the stomach, the impact digging in and coming close to hitting her organs. Meiling let out a pained wheeze, her surprise overriding her pain. She, was not expecting that strong of an hit, or the punch in general. She staggered back as Ran reached the double doors to the library.

* * *

Without warning, Ran burst into the library, making everyone turn. Meiling struggling to run up behind her.

"S-Stop, you can't just barge in here." she gasped, clutching her stomach.

But her plea was ignored.

"Yukari I found her!" Ran ran over to her master, spell in hand.

"She's hurt and bleeding, and from the direction of her blood she is along the border. Hopefully she is bleeding enough for a decent trail. No other points have appeared and from the scream Mokou most likely hit something important. You should go, quickly! I believe she is on her last legs!"

Yukari stood and examined the tracker, it reading 1.1km true east. An easily gapped to coordinate. She tore open a gap but before she stepped into it, she looked at Reimu.

 _Hmm, this very will may be the end of this, so..._

"Actually, Reimu, do you want to come with me to confront Kageshō? After all, you are still technically the shrine maiden of the Hakurei shrine." Yukari smiled, although it was clearly hiding something.

Reimu was too distracted to see it though, jumping up.

"Really, the youkai that did this to me-!" she flew over the table to Yukari.

"Reimu, I don't think that's a goo-" "Yes, the youkai that stole the blood that made you a vampire. I think you should be there for the final confrontation." Yukari cut Sanae off, which only made her intention clearer.

"No, really Rei-!" "Here." Yukari snapped her fingers, a sigil scanning her as she muttered something quickly "That's the spell our friendly mage was going to teach you. You can finish the lesson later." Yukari silenced Sanae with another interruption.

"Yukari, I think Sanae is ri-" "Come on, let's go quickly before she gets away." Patchouli attempted to add to the conversation but was shot down by Yukari talking over her.

With a smile that betrayed her motive, she ushered Reimu into the gap as Sanae got up from her chair, running over as the tear in space healed.

"No, Yukari!" it closed as she reached it, speeding up its closer as she attempted to grab at it.

She did that on purpose.

"Miss Ran, where did they go?! Please, Reimu isn't up to this right now, her whole world caved in around her only less than an hour ago. S-She shouldn't be confronting the person who caused this, she isn't close to mentally ready! She might do something she regrets!" Sanae begged Ran as Patchouli nodded.

"Yes, she isn't stable at the moment. Her powers appear to be linked to her emotions from how she acted and vented energy yesterday in conjunction to her rage and fear. She may lose control." Patchouli warned.

"I see. Just like Yukari to go and expose her to this. Humf, here, this spell should remain active for one hour away from me. Go after them. Follow the arrow and if it starts flickering as you approach, don't mind it, simply continue following it and it should lead you to were they gapped to." Ran held out her location spell, Sanae cupping it in her hands.

A glyph formed beneath her, Patchouli tapping away at a smaller one on the table.

"Should put you outside." and before Sanae could speak, she disappeared in a flash of light.

"Is Reimu okay?" Flandre asked, looking between the fox and mage, Meiling walking up to them now that the scene had calmed down.

"Hopefully."

* * *

 **Eternal border forest of Gensokyo**

Yukari stepped out of the gap with Reimu following. The sun hit her as she left, and much to her relief, she didn't start burning or burst into flames. The sunlight did feel a bit hotter than normal though.

"Hmm, now, where is that youkai?" Yukari looked left to right, before noticing the sizable trail of blood along the ground.

Reimu had already noticed it, and was walking along it. It was almost automatic. Her movement was a bit stiff.

To Reimu, she didn't realise she was moving at first. Once she did, she froze before continuing, her walking more natural. This blood, was leading them to the youkai that did this to her, right? What was she like? Why did she do this. Reimu wanted answers, although she wasn't sure if she could ask them. Soon she entered the wooded area that was in front of her. It wasn't the forest of magic (for once…), it was the tree filled ring around Gensokyo. No one really ever went there, a rumour of being ejected out of the barrier scaring most away. But the blood lead deeper, and soon she heard someone.

"Damn it, my eye, my f**king eye. Asshole pyromaniac! Asshole fox! It hurts…!" the person was yelling, and soon she came into sight.

The world was in twilight. The sun was mostly covered by the trees, the ground covered in weak light. Reimu stood on the shadow covered ground. A youkai stood with her back to her, holding her head. Blood was oozing down her arm, drops falling to the ground. It was what had made the blood path. She sensed Reimu and turned, one good eye shrinking in horror as she edged away from her, teeth grit. The silence...was deafening. But then, quiet footsteps shattered the peace.

"Well now. We finally meet properly face to face. You must be-" Kageshō turned and attempted to run, a gap opening in front of her and firing a blast of violet magic directly into Kageshō's face, knocking her back, a spray from her wounded eye shooting out and staining the ground.

Another gap opened at Yukari's feet, the sage stomping her foot into it. A gap tore open above Kageshō as Yukari's foot drove the girl into the ground, her boot grinding into her exposed burnt stomach. She let out a pained yell as the pressure increased.

"-Kageshō, it is a pleasure to finally meet you properly." Yukari smiled.

The shadow youkai let out another pained gasp as Yukari continued to pin her, the boot slowly digging into the damaged skin. More gaps appeared at her limbs, consuming her arms and legs, snapping closed. Her limbs were bound and she was now completely pinned.

"Shall we list your crimes? Corruption of a shrine maiden, death. The murder of youkai and village humans, death. Attempted mass corruption and death of humans, banishment. Poisoning of youkai, imprisonment. Grievous bodily harm, imprisonment. Theft, fine. My, you are in trouble. Do you have a defense?"

Kageshō didn't respond. She just struggled and pulled at her arms and legs, her tail whipping around widely. It pierced the ground and a shadowy construct burst free from the earth. Reimu held up her hand. A magic glyph formed as she shot a full powered bolt of electricity at it. The shot blew the head off the shadowy mass. Kageshō let out a howl of pain as her tail recoiled from the portal she made, the tip of her tail releasing pulses of blood, a hole having opened, joining her eye in making the red puddle beneath her.

Without saying a word, Reimu began walking over to her. To the youkai that had ran amack the least few days. No...that made it sound like she just caused a normal incident. The youkai that had disrupted the peace of the land. Destroyed the balance of the land. No, no, nononono. That made it too general. The girl who turned her into a monster. **The girl who gave her a curse born of blood. The girl took AWAY HER HUMANITY! THE THING THAT RUINED HER LIFE FOREVER! S-SHE...!**

She didn't realise it, but she had a vacant look it her eyes. The red irises that replaced her brown had dulled, the light having faded. But they still held a glow. An ominous glow, one that burned silent hate. A malice that seemed to seep out of her filled the air. It was a murderous aura.

* * *

Sanae held the spell in her hand, the number below the arrow dropping fast. She needed to go faster! Why would Yukari take Reimu with her? True, the Hakurei shrine maiden would normally see to things like this, but Yukari didn't make it sound like it was business as usual. She made it sound personal. And she didn't like the sound of that. Soon the number fell below a hundred and like Ran said it would, the number started to flicker between numbers. In the morning sun, it wasn't hard for Sanae to spot something red among the browns and green. She landed at a bloody trail and ran along it. She heard someone talking and saw Yukari's back. She ran up behind Yukari and noticed Reimu in front of her, slowly moving towards a pinned girl with an unstable march. She was swaying from side to side in a weak hobble.

"Reimu wai-mmrh!?" Sanae cried was cut off by Yukari grabbing her by the mouth as she ran past her.

"Shhh...this stage isn't for you." she shook a finger in front of Sanae's face in a chiding manner.

Sanae looked at the blond with wide eyes before looking back at Reimu, struggling to escape Yukari. No, this is wrong! Reimu isn't in the right state of mind for this!

"Leff m' no-" her words came out muffed and low, the spell falling out of her hands and shattering, the orb of blood rolling along the ground.

Reimu reached Kageshō, staring down at her. The youkai glanced up at her. She was expecting anger or rage to be plastered across her face, a glare burning into her. But the shrine maiden's face was blank...hollow...empty. Her eyes...they looked...

Dead.

"Are you gonna say anything?!" she spat, followed up with an actually spitting at her.

The saliva hit her cheek, before slowly sliding down it. Then, her face changed. It twisted. It contorted. Her blank face shifted, her blank face gaining a vacant smile. She was standing there, but Reimu...she wasn't really there. A seething malice and pure hatred stood in a Reimu shaped shell. This...wasn't normal. It was...a nightmare.

With no intent or effort, Reimu delivered a kick to Kageshō. The force near caved in her side as it rocketed her away, Yukari's boot slipping off her as the gaps tore along the axis of the ribbon tie, dislodging Kageshō from the binds and leaving jagged wounds in the air, the gaps twitching in apparent pain. Yukari flinched, a stinging pain flaring in her chest for a second before dulling.

 _That was...a strong kick..._ Yukari gasped internally.

Sanae noticed the flinch, lovely.

Kageshō flew around ten feet before hitting the ground, the momentum making her roll along and slammed into a tree, a crack echoing from the bark and her back. Numerous sigils blinked into sight as Reimu rushed the girl, flying low on her wings, a hail of lightning and pure magic barreling down towards the midnight haired girl. Dazed, she barely spotted the speeding vampire and bullets as they closed in on her with her unruined eye, Kageshō using a pulse of dark magic to launch her out of the way. The tree was shredded by the assault, the bark flayed off the tree as it's inner wood was minced. Reimu didn't stop, striking the tree and splitting it in twain, the heavy trunk felled by a single swipe. Reimu landed on a single foot and spun to the right, firing off the curtain of bolts again. There was no style, no pattern. It was just raw arcane power, fueled by a simple goal. Kill.

Kageshō landed on her back and flipped with the movement, landing on her feet. She needed to run, she was not winning this! The sea of bullets washed over her as she started flying backwards. Her hands leaked darkness as she fired into the mass of magic, the black drowned out by the bright purple and yellow. It blasted a small hole in the wall, allowing her to fly through it and into the air, above the trees before turning and blasting off, a beam of waning shadows in the light leaving a trail. She was NOT sticking around to try and shadowstep with a murder bound vampire on her ass! Plus, they burn it light, she can't follow! Reimu dodged the blast and sped after her. She was not running. Two glyphs of several shifting and rotating magic sigils spawned and flanked the vampire as she gave chase. Kageshō sptted the vampire rocket out of the trees. Well...s**t.

Sanae continued to struggle, before doing something she knew she'd regret. She bit into Yukari's hand. It wasn't the pain, more the shock that made Yukari lessen her grip. She was surprised the girl had the guts to bite her. But it was a window. She released a pulse of weak magic, pushing Yukari off balance of less then a second, allowing her to break free and give chase. Yukari examine her hand. A small bite mark marred her hand, the wound bleeding for a few seconds before closing. She smiled.

 _Be it myself or Reimu, she will be punished. So fly little maidan, but for the first time in five years, a youkai will be exterminated. Be it by holy light, magic might or pure hate._

Kageshō pushed herself to go as fast as possible, speeding through the air. She glanced back, spotting a speeding blur of red and white gaining on her.

 _Damn it damn it damn it!_

Kageshō turned back and blindly fired off countless bullets, a vain attempt to slow Reimu down. It didn't work, the light weakened dark shots were going wide and raining down on the speeding land without affecting her. She needed some plan, any plan. In her panic, she had to forgo her greatest strength, running away into portals. She needs a free few second to open and escape, something she wasn't going to get, and now that she's in the sky in daylight, wasn't ever going to be getting. Kageshō very much doubted she'd get a chance like she did with the fox, especially due to her wounds. She doubted she could summon up enough power to make another shadowy mass to block out the light. She veered to the left and fell to the speeding floor, gliding along it. It was a good thing she did. Reimu was firing a steam of bullets from the two 'orbs', shots of lightning and white magic shelling the area around her. Kageshō twisted and boosted to the left and right, the torrent of magic blasting and tearing the flat ground asunder. Kageshō dodged to the left and spotted something. A single tree in the open field, a bastion of shadow. She held out a hand and opened a gap under the sole tree on the plain. A sudden pulse charged the air as Reimu fired a beam of energy that was aimed at the tree. It struck with enough power to erase the ground and tree alike, dark gap destroyed long before Kageshō had a chance to get near it. Kageshō fell lower, now gliding along the ground and ripped open three more in front of her, the holes barely big enough for her tail and proceed to stab her tail into each as she passed, three constructs erupting from small holes of darkness. They were thinner than her normal one, the bright light making them leak a black mist as they dissolved in the sun. Reimu descended to close in on her and dodged the first's stab before accelerating, speeding through the second, the impact ripping it in two. She filled the third with large holes by pelting it with bullets. The first retreated into the portal and reemerged nearer vampire, who promptly grabbed the tip of the spike and ripped the head off it, barely slowing.

 _S-S**t! Nothing is slowing her down! I-I might of messed up, to an impossible degree...to bright to escape or fight, nothing to stop her. I-I can't win this! A vampire in daylight is unfair!_ Kageshō lamented internally as she panicked.

Her thoughts distracted her enough to miss Reimu catching up to her, spinning and dealing a heavy blow to her spine, spiking her to the ground. Kageshō left an indent where she hit and rolled along the floor before jumping away from Reimu punching her previous location, the electrified punch splitting the ground and sending earth flying. A miasma snaked out of Kageshō's hands as she fired her own attacks, the shadowy magic fired in a thick hail. The wasn't anyway to dodge through it, similar to Reimu's last curtain. This wasn't a spell card duel, there was no need for space to dodge. Reimu charged the hail, firing her own bullets. The collision resulted in a loud bang as the magics detonated. From the smoke, a beam shot a hole through, revealing Reimu, arm outstretched. The electric beam gazed the shadow Youkai, leaving a burn that came with enough force to tear skin clean off muscle. Kageshō let out a pained howl as she clutched the raw burn, the skin screaming as her hand touched it. Reimu was on top of her instantly. So Kageshō did the only thing she think of. A black mist surrounded her as it hardened. It wasn't strong, the protective shell. It wouldn't last long under the assault Reimu was throwing at her, but...it was something. Her attacks meant nothing! Reimu didn't even need to destroy them to avoid them. She could fly through them with ease. Day time was the worst time to fight her, and she couldn't do s**t.

Reimu stared at the melting ball in front of her. Well, saying it was Reimu is a stretch. Her vacant eyes looked over the orb. The first thing she did was strike it, the shell cracking and being thrown back a decent distance, hitting a rock. They had just reached Youkai mountain, Kageshō frantic aimless fleeing combined with their their speed bringing them a fair distance. She flew over to the shell, still staring. Then, in her bloodlust riddled mind, an idea surfaced, a hazy memory floating to the top of her murky mind. She slowly put her index, middle and ring fingers of her right hand into her mouth, and bit down. Her teeth cut the tips off the finger. She quickly flicked her wrist, as a stream of blood flowed out. Before her vampiric body could heal, a pulse of magic ran through the blood. The streams suddenly hardened, the red solidifying into long, sharp, crimson claws. Still in the same motion, Reimu drove the claw-like blood nails into the damaged shell, piercing it. She pulled to the right, shattering the black, exposing a horrified Kageshō.

"No...more...running…"

Reimu slashed at her, the claw slicing Kageshō's side. She attempted to back away, but Reimu slashed again, catching her leg. She swiped down, cutting the youkai's face, adding a new avenue for blood to escape her face along with her eye before rushing in, impaling her through the stomach in an uppercut, the blood claw emerging from her back. She let out a laboured gasp, grabbing Reimu's arm. It didn't stop her from flying a bit into the air, leaning back and flinging her off the claw, hitting the ground with a sickening crunch from her impacted shoulder. Reimu fell after her. Kageshō used her tail to push herself back, pain flaring from its wounded tip, narrowly avoiding her stab. The vampire didn't care, dragging her claw along the ground. Kageshō rolled out of the way, the nails breaking off from the drag along the hard earth. Reimu grabbing one with her left hand as her right regenerated her finger, stabbing down and embedding it into Kageshō's leg, trapping her. She let out a scream that was drowned out by Reimu grabbing her head and smashing it into the ground. She shifted her grip to her now matted hair and threw Kageshō, who slammed into a rock. Before she hit the ground, Reimu grabbed her neck. And without missing a beat, she punched her straight in the face. And then she hit her again. And again, and again, again...again...againagainagainagainagainagain. If she was lucid she would have lost track as she hit her repeatedly. Suddenly, she felt something slowing her punches. It didn't really inhibitor her, so she continued, adding more force to make up for it. Then a noised joined in. It sounded like...begging? Crying? Reimu gazed to the right, noticing a head of green, fear and terror on her face.

"Sa...na...e…?" Reimu whispered, the haze that had clouded her mind lifting slightly.

* * *

 **During the fight**

Sanae chased the two, desperate to stop Reimu. It didn't matter if she was a vampire, or what the youkai had done, she didn't want Reimu to turn into some bloodthirsty monster! Well...she was a vampire now-no stop that! Just because she drank blood now didn't mean she had to be an evil blood crazed fiend! She was still Reimu, she just wasn't in her right mind. She needed her to stop and calm down. This Kageshō would be dealt with. But she didn't want her to be dealt with via slow torturous death. Extermination was quick...and mostly painless. This...was more of an all out fight to the death that people supposedly did before spell cards.

The problem she was having was that Kageshō fear was making her fly fast, and Reimu was just plain fast. Then there was also the problem of the stray dark bullets and lightning shelling the whole area with no safe zone! Sanae dodged and batted away the electric magic with her purification rod, the magic hitting with enough force to knock her back with every deflection.

 _Yukari...why did you let this happen? You could have just had Kageshō purged by your shikigami...or herself. Hell, even I would have done it. I was trained to do it, even though I never thought I'd need to. Instead you brought Reimu with you. Did you want her to get revenge? It...this isn't right, you weren't right._

There was a lapse in the bullets as Kageshō fled towards the ground, the magic now scorching the earth. She continued to chase them, dodging as Kageshō just fired a blast in a scattershot. Sanae blocked most that came close, a stray one hitting her arm, a burning pain coming from it. Yeah, these weren't spell card bullets. Those had weight and could bruise if they hit, but these are concentrated energy. Even weakened, they were meant to harm, not show off. Sanae landed and grabbed her arm, as she looked around. They had flown across Gensokyo at an amazing pace, now around the rocky and wooded base of Youkai mountain. She glanced back and her heart sank. Reimu impaled Kageshō and threw her to the ground, the impact accompanied with the sound of bones breaking. The hit to the ground also made blood fly everywhere from her wounds through sheer force alone. Reimu landed and continued to maim the downed youkai. She was done, no more fight in her…

That didn't stop Reimu.

She stabbed her leg and threw her away, before rushing her.

"Reimu stop!"

She began pummeling her, the heavy strikes and impacts quickly taking on a wet tone.

"Reimu stop, please!" Sanae grabbed her arm, which was quickly bloodying "Stop please, you've done enough! Please, stop, stop! Reimu this isn't what you're normally like, stop! PLEASE!" She begged, desperately tugging at her arm, blood splatter hitting her face and staining her sleeves.

The impacts slowed as Reimu turned to Sanae. Her eyes still had a hollow emptiness to them, the dull eyes growing an ominous red.

"Please, you said you didn't want to be a monster, so please, stop. You've done enough, let me finish this…"

"Sa...na...e...?" Reimu responded with quiet whisper, clearly still in a daze.

The glow in her eyes faded as she dropped the mangled body of Kageshō, a soft thud laced with a liquid squelch echoing through the mountain air. It...she was in a less rocky forest a second ago...where...? As she slowly blinked and stepped back, Reimu was hit with a terrible headache. She shook her head, using her hand to rub her temple, freezing at the warm sensation. She pulled her hand away. It was drenched in blood. She looked down at Kageshō. The youkai had several burns on her legs, a dislocated shoulder, and a lot of puncture and claw-like wounds. Her neck had a bad bruise in the shape of a hand on the front and her face had been warped from her skull being beaten to the point of shattering. Her eye gazed at Reimu, bloody tears running down from both of them. She looked terrifying, sickening...and just plain scared. Reimu staggered back more.

"What…? What happened? Did I…" she stopped as the feelings she had went she first saw Kageshō came back. A burning rage-

Reimu turned away, walking towards the damaged land. Sanae knelt down in front of Kageshō, rod in hand. She remembered how Reimu taught her to exterminate youkai, before the second half echoed in her head.

" _ **There, and that...is how you get rid of a youkai." Reimu folded her arms, her gohei floating down into her grip.**_

" _ **Okay...so, do you need to do that often?" Sanae asked.**_

" _ **No, not in like 4 years. After the spell cards became wide spread, the number of fights skyrocketed, but the number of actually violent youkai shrank to pretty much zero. The youkai, humans, fairies...even the gods and oni all seemed to like it more. They could fight with as much power as it let them, work out annoyances and grudges before they festered too long. Scare villagers witless without killing them. And everyone seems fine with that. This is just, in case something shows up that doesn't want to play by the rules." Reimu explained.**_

" _ **Do you think that someone will ever do that?"**_

" _ **The closest we ever got to that was Junko and Seija, and they still followed them, to an extent. So probably not." Reimu began walking away, shrugging.**_

Sanae looked down at Kageshō.

 _She broke a lot of rules...and hurt a few people. I guess, this is why she taught me it._ Sanae closed her eyes as divine power began to charge the semi-stiff fabric like paper at the rod's tip.

A small sigil appeared below her.

"By the divine spirits and gods who flow and ride the winds of land and sky, channel to me the divinity to purge those who would disrupt the peace of this sealed land." lights and wisps began to swirl around her.

A bell chimed from nowhere.

"Farewell." she rose the energies into the sky, a soft glow enveloping her.

And brought the instrument of down on the youkai.

* * *

Reimu walked up to several ruined plants. She had really totaled the area. She reached a cliff. She had started at some treed place near an edge of the barrier, and yet, here she was, near a small cliff close to the bottom of Youkai mountain. She, wasn't sure if it was super far from the start point, but she had gone a noticeable distance. She looked down at her hand and arm. The blood was drying and going a darker red, and getting a bit crusty. She...let what Copy had warned her about out. A rage from her blood. She had near caved the youkai's face in. She fell to the ground and sat over the edge, her wings wrapping around her. Stupid things, she didn't-...she didn't make them do that. Was it Copy? If it was...that's worrying. Or it could be that she did it instinctively. As the wind rushed past her, the sun's heat on her shielded skin, she heard paper tearing, before someone walked up behind her.

"Hi Yukari."

The sage sat down next to her.

"Feel better?" Reimu stayed silent "I was planning on letting Ran rip her head off over what happened to Chen, but then I learned about Sakuya, and there was also Alice and that horned girl...I wanted to then make her realise the error of her ways, before disposing of her. If I had gotten rid of her myself or with Ran...you would never have had the chance to vent."

"I...she was barely alive by the time Sanae stopped me."

"No...she would have survived with a bit of help or luck. Scared, scared and probably limping and weak for years to come. Even weak youkai have the endurance to keep going after a fight. That's why you have the extermination rite. To finish them without beating them to a literal bloody pulp to kill them, or pierce their chest and stab their heart. As much as Sanae will disagree, and how bad you might feel, I think...you needed to express your hatred. Otherwise you would go off and have that festering in you for the rest of your immortal life. Who knows how ill tempered you'd get?" Yukari joked.

Reimu replied with a punch to Yukari's arm. It made her slide slightly from the force, but she simply hopped back over.

"What's going to happen now?"

"Well, the Hakurei shrine needs a new shrine maiden, which may take some time."

"Really?"

"Yes, the Hakurei shrine maiden's are chosen two ways. The daughter of the current maiden will always have a decent attunement to the god's divine power. But as you lost the power, even if you had a child, it may not have any attunement. And if it did, it would still be a half-vampire, so it would be a no go. The other is simply find a child born with enough spiritual energy and attunement to take on the role." Yukari said with closed eyes.

"So you have to go find a human girl in the village who fits into that criteria?" Reimu asked.

"Yes, but myself and Kasen always check on every baby born in Gensokyo, to make sure that if there is one, we can get her trained in case something happened to your family line, like this."

"And there's none?"

"The last was your great-great Grandmother. She replaced the at the time only eighteen year old shrine maiden that got her stomach ripped out."

"So, what will happen?"

"Well, until we get a replacement, you'll just have to be the shrine maiden." Yukari smiled.

"But I can't be the shrine maiden, I can't use my old powers!"

"So?" Reimu turned to see Sanae sit beside her "You always solve incidents with a headstrong beatdown with spell cards, and then everything goes back to normal with either a new friend or at least an acquaintance. If you ever need an actually shrine maiden's power, call me." she added.

"Indeed. With a second shrine and its maiden around, I don't see the rush for a new shrine maiden. Well, the barrier will be a bit weak without a new one, but I think I can come up with a solution to that with a bit of thinking. Anyway, you never truly did your job to the letter, it fact, you were in a whole other book. Couldn't be bother to erase youkai so you dug up the spell cards from an old moldy book in the storeroom of the shrine. If it takes 1000 years to replace you, it doesn't matter. Between you, Sanae, your friends, anymore friends you make and children of said friends that are human and they have children, you could resolve any incident, or deal with any rouge god or youkai." Yukari finished by grabbing Reimu and pulling her into a sideways hug "And even if I need to do extra work to ensure the barriers integrity, it will be fine."

Sanae smiled and joined in. Then she felt something land on her.

"Hi, what happened here? There was lightning and magic and it killed Lily while I was talking to her." Cirno asked from Reimu's head.

"Gah-?! Cirno, where did you come from?! Get off! I'm gonna-!...Hah...I'll tell you later." Reimu huffed, sighing as the fairy fell off her head.

The three looked out over Gensokyo from the slightly raised cliff as Cirno joined them, looking around kicking her feet. She opened her mouth to speak, but Yukari opened a gap and pushed her in, the fairy letting out an eep before disappearing into the tear.

"Thanks…"

"No problem. Now, shall we return to the Scarlets? Surely you'd like breakfast?"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that, but I kinda want to talk to Marisa about this as soon as possible."

"She's in Eientei getting her nose fixed, you can visit her tomorrow." Sanae suggested.

"(Sigh) I guess." Reimu sighed as she jumped off the cliff, her wings flapping to hold her up "These are surprising easy to get used to." she added.

"If you say so." Yukari fell off too, joining her.

Sanae nodded and floated up "To the mansion!"

And with the announcement, they flew off as Cirno fell from the sky behind them head first, the impact cracking her wings, yet not her skull.

"Owww…"

* * *

AN: This chapter is near done, just gotta add a bit to the start to make it line up.

*Around 2500 words later*

Now to fix a few inconsistencies.

*200 words later*

And fixed...writing this awhile ago was a bad idea...

Anyway, welcome to the last chapter, the next one is an epilogue and than the EX stuff will be written, eventually. They aren't super important, just some stuff that I want to write about that wouldn't fit into the story for reasons.

The AN in the next chapter, which once again is mostly done although it shouldn't need that much modifying, will be a bit long I think, because I'm going to talk about a few things, mainly stuff that changed over writing the story or...really just that, so you can see all my stupid choices. I'm going to post it in a few days, so, unlike what I normally do, because I like to respond to reviews I think need responds with Pm, is answer any questions asked in the reviews at the end. Got a question? Ask, and I shall answer, hopefully with a decent answer. And if there are none, *shrug* oh well.

Final bit, if you see something a bit off, tell me. I had to rewrite this a bit and I may have missed something. Hopefully not.

So, review, Pm, ask a question or something.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	18. Epilogue

Finale: Eternal maiden

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

Note: The AN at the end contains some important info.

* * *

 **~50 years later~**

The sun sat high in the clear sky, the Hakurei shrine standing the same as always. Reimu glanced out from from under the big parasol that Yukari gave her...20 years ago? The fact she hadn't aged at all since this whole immortal stuff had started was confusing her sense of years. She was wearing a plain red top and a white skirt with long grey socks and boots Yukari insisted she wore. She didn't really wear her old shrine outfit as often as before...mainly because someone else was now wearing a similar one daily. Speaking of Yukari, she sat beside her, drinking a cup of tea. As the two sat in on the steps leading into the shrine's store house, Remilia landed at the top of the front steps, Sakuya landing next to her, parasol blocking the light. Reimu was still a bit put off by how Sakuya, who should be in her eighths, looked like she was only in her mid forties. She had her excuse, but Sakuya's response to the question was always 'it is a Scarlet secret'. She, didn't like how she put it. The two walked over.

"Hi sis, how are you?" Remilia smirked, exposing a fang.

Reimu frowned. She didn't mind Flandre calling her that, because she actually meant it. Remilia just wanted a rise out of her.

"Not much, haven't seen my old hag of a sister in two years." Reimu shot back.

Remilia smiled as she sat, eye twitching for a split second. Sakuya handed her the parasol.

"I will go prepare your tea Lady Remilia. Is all the equipment in the same place?" she turned to Reimu.

"Yeah, I didn't move it."

Sakuya bowed and walked off, into the shrine. Before anyone could speak, someone suddenly grabbed the both of them.

"Ha, didn't know ol'Remi was coming." Marisa grinned, exposing her broken smile with three missing teeth.

For a woman in her sevenths, she was still Marisa. For better or worse.

"Well of course I came, Patchy needs her books back before you turn to dust."

"Ha, have her come get'em. I still live in the same place."

After a sigh and Marisa squeezing in between Reimu and Yukari, she pulled out a bottle.

"Is that the oni stuff Yuugi gave me?" Reimu questioned the witch as she pulled the stopper out.

"Yeah, she said not to drink it for at least 40 years. And it's been 43."

"I thought it was 60 years." Reimu corrected.

"I'll be dead by then, ⅔ is good enough." Marisa struggled as she downed half the bottle.

She breath instantly hitched.

"Pouck! Tha-that's strong." she coughed.

"Wah!? Who are you-ack?!" a cry made the group turn to the shrine.

A girl with platinum blond hair reaching her lower back staggered out of the shrine, falling off the raised step. She fell to the ground, dropping a book. The girl was dressed in the Hakurei shrine maiden uniform that Reimu used to wear, except that the sleeves were attracted to her top. She glanced over to the group, her blue eyes widening in embarrassment. She scrambled to her feet and ran over.

"Aunt Reimu, t-there's a weird woman in the kitchen!" she cried, hugging the book.

Before anyone could speak, Remilia stood and grabbed the book.

"Hmm, the new girl's a fence on the side, shameful."

"H-hey, my Grandmother gave that to me as a gift for becoming the shrine maiden!" she yelled.

Everyone turned to Marisa.

"There is a very good explanation. And it is goodbye!" she smacked Remilia's parasol away and sprinted off.

The vampire let out a shriek as her skin burned and jumped under Reimu's parasol, the blue hair girl grinding her teeth. Reimu snapped her fingers, a glyph scanning over Remilia. She gave a nod and left the shade, the sun blocked by the spell. Dropping the book and spreading her wings, she gave chase.

"Ohh, why does she always do that…" the new girl sat down next to the two.

"Seiho, it's just...what Marisa does." Reimu sighed "I'd be worried if she stopped doing it."

"B-But all the villagers will think I'm some thief like her and never come up here." Seiho lamented.

"You don't need to worry. No one comes up here." Reimu replied with a bitter smile.

"Maybe they're scared of the vampire in the closet." Yukari added.

"They never came before that, and haven't come since. It's the forest, not the inhabitants. You'll get more donations from visiting youkai, fairies and oni than humans."

"Why is everyone scared of the forest anyway?"

"Because it's full of scary youkai...and you can get lost, and there's some crazy woman living there that makes drugs out of her shed." Reimu pointed at Marisa in the sky, having jumped on her broom and fled into the air "You've lived in it for years, you're used to it."

Marisa was dodging an annoyed Remilia, who was raining bullets down on her. She was avoiding a good chunk of them, and destroying large fields of incoming bullets she couldn't avoid by firing a large beam of magic at Remilia. Master spark at its finest.

"We moved her there because father was sick of the fumes! Uff, what did grandfather see in her." Seiho pondered as she opened the book.

Might as well read as much as possible before it's taken back.

"No clue. He ran away screaming whenever he saw me. I wasn't even allowed at the wedding."

"I think grandmother said his line was 'she's gonna eat my flesh!'" Seiho laughed "Father was a lot more okay with you."

"That's because he grew up around me. With Marisa doing her thing behind your grandfather's back and him working all day, I was free babysitting. 'You're immortal! Do me a favour and look after Shura. You got forever to do your stuff.'"

"Is that why he likes electric magic?" she nudged Reimu.

"Yeah." she admitted "He wanted to be like his mother. She was too 'busy' to teach him, so I taught him the channel magic I got for being a vampire." Reimu snapped her fingers, a crackle of energy sparking off her.

"Well, you taught me a little too." she added with a snap of her own, weaker white electric energy pulsing off her hand.

"Yep."

After that, silence reigned...well, silence was a strong word with the sound of a duel ringing through the air. Sakuya walked out, two cups of tea.

"Where is Lady Remilia?" Sakuya asked as Reimu grabbed a cup.

"Sky. The book Seiho has was a gift from Marisa, who took it from the mansion."

"I see. If you come by the manor later after Patchouli puts in back into the collection, she will most likely let you read it there for a few hours a day."

"Oh. Thanks."

Sakuya sat next to Yukari. It was...nice to have everyone sitting and relaxing. Although after 5 minutes, Seiho looked at Reimu.

"Umm...are you, really okay moving into the basement?" Seiho asked.

"Huh? Oh yeah. I've been living in the shrine because there's been no maiden. Now there is, so yeah, having the whole shrine to yourself seems right. I'm just glad it was you. If it was some random village kid, Clownpiece might of had to move, and I'd be going to the Scarlets."

"Lady Flandre wouldn't mind." Sakuya grinned.

"Yeah, I know, but well, I like this place."

"Hmm, indeed. Live somewhere long enough and you find yourself unwilling to move." Yukari chimed in "I don't think I could live anywhere other than my home. It wouldn't be the same without the smell of fox and cat so deeply embedded that there is no hope of removing it."

"That sounds horrible."

A crash shook the area as Marisa slammed to the ground, dazed.

"IIII'maa okayyyyyy!" she slurred into the stone.

"Maybe you shouldn't have drank the rest of that during the fight." Remilia sneered landing next to her.

"Oh grandmother, you cracked the path!" Seiho jumped up and ran over to the floored witch.

Remilia walked over and grabbed the other red coloured tea, Sakuya opening her parasol to shield her.

"Today is a good day." she smiled.

"Yeah, it's nice." Reimu sighed, gazing out into the shrine's front area.

It was the same as before...all this happened. She couldn't go out in the sun without a parasol or a spell, but it was mostly the same. So yeah, Keine was right all those years ago.

 _ **'But** **remember'**_...uhh _**'you have people'**_ that like being around you...and _**'will help'**_ or something...

…(sigh) Stupid memory.

* * *

AN: Is this a bit short? Yeah, it is.

So, this is the end of the main part of the story, the way it was always going to end. Sorry if it seems a bit off, but I have a bit of a solution.  
The EX chapters. Originally there were only going to be two, one on Seiho, the new maiden and Marisa's granddaughter. The reason for this was I briefly thought of doing a sequel, before coming to the conclusion that that was a terrible idea. Instead, I was going to do an EX chapter that revolved around her. That's going to happen still, just not for a while now.

The other EX chapter, which is still going to be the last EX chapter, was something involving Yukari and Kageshō.

Now though, I've a few more planned, dealing with what happened to the groups after chapter 17, plus one or two set over the 50 year jump. These will revolve around...things...can't say a lot.

Now, as I said before, I'll answer question!...I got none, so let's skip this part, with one exception. Hopefully this will do Face of Mercy, sorry for the slight disappointment.

And now, I want to talk about a few things that changed over the story, mainly because I really like to know how thing changed over time with games and stories that are made, so I want to do something like that, so let's start!

1) As I said before, Aya was originally meant to get better and go off to find out who the vampire was. This would have resulted in a few scenes of Aya trying and failing to get into the mansion with Meiling stopping her. I wrote this down to remain me, lost that, forgot that, and Aya was turned into a fever fueled joke for the story.

2) Instead of being over mostly one day and a bit of a second, the story was meant to go over a week. This was changed because I couldn't figure out a way to skip the rest of days at first as I made Reimu really insistent on getting cured. So it took place on a single day. The vampirism was meant to be incurable after a week instead. Just as well, I've no clue how I would have delayed Eirin for a week. Maybe let Kageshō mass poison youkai or actually infect a ton of humans? No idea really, this was changed by ch 4.

3) Speaking of quick days, Reimu was originally meant to be asleep by ch 5, and woken up starving, and in her hunger drained a fairy dry. That would have been nice to describe...  
The chapter would have just been called hunger by the way.

4) Instead of Kagerou and Seija getting the report back, Koishi was meant to show up and take it resulting in Kageshō attempting to get it back before disappearing, confusing Kageshō to no end. This would have gotten Satori and Okuu involved as well. I wanted to limit characters, so I got rid of that.

5) Copy's origin was originally...a lot more better before changing to a lot more dumb. The whole brain thing was actually a big mess created by my memory failing me. I originally had a pretty good idea on what to do, but I couldn't write of a few days, forgot it, and struggled to write something decent due to this. My memory is terrible, to the point I wonder if I have a problem with it I don't know about. This resulted in a few other small changes throughout which I also can't remember. And if you want to know the original? Too bad, still don't remember.

So yeah, that's all I want to say. The EX chapters will come out...at some point. I'll probably write two before putting them up. I want to focus back on the SCP stuff I wrote, and finish that so I can return to the RWBY story. And after that...I might just delete the FE sequel. It's bad and I hate it. And after all that!...I have no idea at all, this will most likely take a year to do anyway so I've time.

Review, pm, look forward to EX chapters when I get to them.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	19. EX chapter 1

Chapter EX 1: Mansion, village and Eientei

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

 **Note: Takes place before epilogue.**

* * *

Remilia sat in her chair, idly staring at Eirin as she finished bandaging Sakuya's back. The doctor sighed.

"Remilia, Sakuya really needs to rest with that wound. It may have missed her vitals but it still is fairly nasty." Eirin chided, making the lady of the manor frown.

"Are you accusing me of forcing her to work? I told her to have a day off but she refused."

"A day?" Eirin let out an exasperated sigh "You need to learn your servant's limits. She should be resting a week with a wound like this. And even than after a week she shouldn't push her too hard. This may take minimum a month to heal fully, and that's if it heals correctly."

"Paff?!" the vampire spat out her tea "A month?! Sakuya can't be out of commission for a month, the mansion would fall into ruin!" Remilia yelled "Just heal her faster!"

"That's not how humans work. Vampires rapidly regenerate and youkai and oni heal none magic wounds in one or two days, but humans need time to heal."

"Okay, Sakuya speed up time around yourself and heal." Remilia ordered.

"As you wish." Sakuya bowed with a wince before drawing her pocket watch, which Eirin snatched as she was about to press the button on its side.

"No, rapidly accelerating time around the wound could negatively affect the cells, making them loss control and develop excess scar tissue if you're lucky or cancerous tumours at worst." she explained.

Remilia scowled.

"Cancer? The constellation? You gone a bit crazy Eirin?" Remilia smirked, standing.

"Really Remilia, she needs to rest and heal naturally."

The vampire grabbed the watch, sighing.

"You heard the doctor I guess. You'll supervise the fairies and do light cleaning and cooking. We'll just have to manage."

"Working at all will slow down her recovery."

"I'm already having to accept that fairies will be doing most of the work, do not make it so Sakuya can't help."

"(Sigh) If that's what you want. Now, I need to return to Eientei to look after Alice and Seija. Add 5000 yen to the next blood supply payment." Eirin turned and walked away, leaving Remilia to huff.

She handed Sakuya her watch.

"You heard her. No major work for a month."

"I apologise for the inconvenience Lady Remilia."

"Don't worry about it. I just hope that youkai's caught soon."

* * *

 **Gensokyo skyway**

Reimu flew through the morning air, the sun starting to irritate her eyes. Sunlight hurting her eyes even with this spell is going to be annoying. She still needs to learn it actually. How do you even learn spells? Or cast them? Marisa, Alice and Patchouli use them, but she's never really seen them in use. Or has she and just not noticed? Danmaku and spell cards are more straightforward. Oh well, the librarian will just have to teach her...stuff. Reimu looked behind her. Yukari was floating at a decent pace with Sanae following. Wait…

"Why are we flying? Can you just use gaps to get us there?" Reimu stopped in the air, her wings flapping faster to keep her alight.

"Well, you need to get used to you're wings, so I thought a nice relaxing flight back would be nice." Yukari smiled "How do they feel?"

"Like I said, easy enough to get used to. Just...a bit odd to be using a muscle that I didn't have before. And add the fact that I need to have 'remember to keep flapping' going in my head when still is annoying."

"Well, when I learned to fly it was so weird. I felt like I was constantly about to crash and I hit off trees and walls trying to learn." Sanae added.

"Hmm...hey wait, Sanae? I just thought of this, how did you tell Kanako and Suwako that you'd be staying overnight at the mansion?" Reimu asked looking at the green haired girl.

Sanae opened her mouth, before closing it and glancing around, a nervous laugh escaping her. She then promptly turned around and sped off back towards Youkai mountain.

"Of course you didn't tell them…" Reimu muttered as she continued flying.

The rest of the flight was uneventful, Reimu gradually getting the hang of flying without having to put in mental effort. It would be better if she didn't have to get used to it, but...no use thinking like that. She's...stuck like this. As she flew and gazed over Gensokyo, Reimu did notice at a few points the ground had suffered damage, including a small hump in the land where a tree was suddenly being flattened with no tree and a gash out of the land. Soon, the misty lake comes into view, followed by the SDM. Reimu sped up and landed by the gate, surprising a thinking Meiling.

"Oh, you're back. Soooo...how'd it go?" she asked as she turned away from the bent hing she was examining.

"It went...umm, fine." Reimu answered, clearly not about to continue.

"Cool, hey Yukari!" she called after the youkai who just strolled past her.

"What is it? We were already here, there isn't a problem with reentering, is there?"

"No not that. I just want you talk to Ran about her communication skills. I get she was in a hurry, but a sucker punch to the gut wasn't...pleasant."

"But I thought you preferred physical fights to spell card duels?" Yukari asked with fake shock.

"I am better in actually martial fights, but running passed me with nothing but 'I need Yukari' and than to respond when I try and stop her, she punches me so hard she near made a hole in my torso might be a bit much don't you think?" Meiling complained.

"Hmm, yes, a tad much. I'll have a word with her. Come Reimu, it's been near an hour thirty with our slow fly back and if the spell fails you may become a bit crispy." Yukari beckoned Reimu as she walked to the door, the new vampire running after at the thought.

Yukari opened a gap by the front door as they walked in.

"Could you tell Ran to come through please?"

Reimu rolls her eyes and stepped into the gap. Through the eye filled void, muffled talking escapes before Ran walks through.

"You called?"

"Yes, Kageshō is gone. The Moriya girl purged her after Reimu near beat her to death. From the spell she held I'm guessing you had a hand in her finding us?"

"Yes well, she seemed worried."

"Mmm, well, it worked out anyway. Now, I presume you'll wish to return to Chen?"

"Yes, after I tell the village that the youkai is dead. They were ramping up their defences to protect themselves, although the effort was...sub-par. They were even attempting to get a wolf tengu to help." Ran explained.

"Yes, putting them at ease would be good. And one final thing before you leave." Yukari opened a tiny gap and pulled free a heavy looking purse "For Chen's treatment. I'd prefer no debt be hovering over our heads."

Ran nodded and left the manor, Yen in hand. Yukari gapped away towards the dining hall, arriving to Remilia sitting alone.

"Hey, find Reimu?" she asked sitting up.

"Yes, and the youkai is dealt with."

"Wait, you got her?"

"Well, Reimu near killed her, and Sanae finished her off."

"Hmm, good. I guess that's why you took so long coming back. Where is she? The food's been ready."

Yukari didn't reply, instead opening a large gap and reaching in. She smiled and pulled out Flandre.

"Hi!" she smiled as Yukari placed her down.

"Sorry, wrong vampire."

She rummaged around the gap again, pulling out Patchouli's assistant.

"Umm, Miss Patchouli, it leads to the dining hall!" she called into the gap as Yukari threw her back in.

Patchouli stuck her head through.

"Why is there a moving void with an arm sticking out of it combing the library?" she scowled.

"Food is ready." Remilia replied, unfazed.

"Than send Sakuya or a fairy Remilia." Patchouli complained as Reimu followed.

"She was just about to start…" she whispered.

"You have all day to learn that simple spell, and if required myself or Ran can finish teaching you later if you find her teaching and explanations...lacking." Yukari gave a sideward glance.

The magician ignored her.

As if on cue, a red haired fairy arrived pushing a trolley, Sakuya walking behind her.

"Food's here!" she cheerily announced, Sakuya stepping up beside her.

"That is not how we address Lady Remilia and her guests." Sakuya glared down at the fairy, who shrank under the harsh scorn "U-uhh, y-your food is r-ready m-my lady…" she stammered out, Sakuya smirking.

If the fairies must stand in for her duties, they will behave accordingly.

"What is it?" Reimu asked as the fairy placed the plate with a brown crusted pastry down at everyone's seat. Sakuya noticed the lack of Sanae.

"It is a pastry known as a croissant, popular in the outside world. Where is Miss Kochiya?"

"She had to return to her shrine for...reasons…" Reimu shrugged.

Sakuya's respond was grab the spare plate and place it back on the trolley. She grabbed a teapot and the fairy grabbed a second.

"That one is the normal tea for non-vampires."

"Okay, got it."

Tea was poured and the fairy retreated, leaving the group to eat. Reimu picked up the pastry. It was crumbly and had a hint of a coppery smell to it. She could guess why.

"It was quite annoying to make them keep their shape. Especially those with the added ingredient. It made the dough not set properly. Add the wound into it making it hard to check them baking this morning and it was certainly trying."

Reimu looked at the group. Everyone was devouring them at a quick pace. She sighed.

" _ **You're a vampire, it's our thing."**_

She knew what was in it, coupled with the fact she's never eaten something like this before. Oh well, no use waiting around. Picking it up, she took a bite...and found it lacked the bloody taste. Well she got worked up over nothing. The taste was masked under the taste of crumbly pastry. Patchouli finished her quickly, well, more ate half and than was done. She looked over at Reimu.

"After you're finished, we can return to the lesson. After you get the hang of it, you can leave." Patchouli stated sipping her tea.

"And then we can play!" Flandre chimed in.

"And you can visit Marisa in Eientei tomorrow. Looks like the next few days will be busy." Yukari smirked.

Yeah, busy...first and second day of being immortal, and they're stacked high with stuff to do, almost too much of the time given. A bit of an oxymoron.

Guess she'll just have to deal with it.

* * *

 **One lone fox**

Ran left the Scarlet Devil Mansion and found Meiling fiddling with the gate hinge, attempting to bend the metal back into shape. She ignored her and walked out the gate, Meiling glancing at her before returning to her poor attempt at repairing even a fraction of the gate. Just give up, get a human and Kappa to fix it…

Ran boosted into the air once she cleared of the gate, zooming off towards the human village.

 _Hmm, I wonder if they've improved the defences in the short time I've been gone?...Unlikely._ Ran pondered internally as she sped up.

It didn't take long to reach the village at the pace she was going. Landing a bit from the front gate, Ran was surprised to see someone had joined the two men at the gate. A short girl wearing a grey sleeveless top and a dark brown skirt that near reached her ankles, which were adored by wooden sandals. She was leaning on a massive weapon that's blade reached her head height. Atop her near white grey hair sat two wolf ears. Ran could hear her beratement from a distance.

"What the actually former hell is this?!" she waved the makeshift spear around, the blade coming loose.

"A-A spear…" one boy whispered.

"No it isn't, it's a knife bound to a mop. And that is half a wakizashi blade bound to a broom!" she pointed to the second 'weapon' "I was told to come down here to make sure the human's could watch themselves and if this is the front gate, what're the patrols like? An old farmer with a rusty katana and some kid with a forger's hammer?!"

"How does she know about the rear guard?" the other whispered.

"By the Great Tengu…" she noticed Ran "Hey, you two! Pay attention, I'm going to give you a demonstration!" she marched up to Ran, pulling the large, heavy blade free from the earth.

The sight of a 5 foot girl wielding a 5.5 foot weapon would be comical if it wasn't for the fact she held the blade with practiced else. She held the blade level to her head, forcing Ran to stand away from her.

"Kitsune, you stand at the human village's front gate during a state of high alert, state your business here!" she demanded, a stern frown on her face.

"I am Ran Yakumo, shikigami of the Gap sage Yukari Yakumo. I come with the news of the extermination of Kageshō, the youkai that caused this mess." Ran stated, the tengu lowering her blade.

"She's been got? Hmm, than I'm not needed I guess. Tell that teacher woman that payment isn't required due to me literally only being her 10 minutes. Great, this was a waste of time…" she mumbled the last part as she walked away.

The two men grinned at each other.

"Looks like we got out of her lecture." the first smirked.

"Yeah, thanks fox lady."

Ran ignored the two and walked past them, making a beeline for the school. The sooner she gets Keine to end this poor excuse for a defence force the better. As she reached the school's gate, she spotted something flying over head and landing behind the school. Despite the worried looks she was getting from the humans staring at her, she followed after it, landing in the walled playground. A messy haired, bloodstained Mokou was attempting to open the backdoor, finding it locked. Her ruined arm was shielding her neck from view, though anyone who saw her would instantly notice her wounds.

"Stupood thing, open." she grunted, her voice bubbling due to her still damaged neck.

"Trouble?" Ran asked walking over.

Mokou glanced back.

"I wanted to snek in the back so I didn't frek the kids or adultsh out. But the doorsh locked." Mokou explained, her words slurring.

Ran nodded and walked away from the door. The large wooden building had several windows lining the back. The right wing's showed a large classroom, the one Ran had walked into following the dark portals. The other side had less windows, although from one she could see the school's small library with a sole person at a low desk. He looked bored out of his mind. Ran knocked on the window, making the man jump, backing away from the wobbling, weak glass. They should attempt to get better quality. She knocked again, the man slowly approaching. The thin glass allow her voice to pierce through it.

"Get the head teacher, it's important." she ordered, the man visible worried.

"W-Why?"

"I have important news involving the youkai."

The man nodded and ran out of the library. In less than a minute, the door unlocked and an annoyed Keine burst out, frowning.

"We have a front door." she fumed.

"I was distracted by your friend." Ran pointed at Mokou.

She grimaced at the sight.

"Mokou, what happened?!"

"Well, we fought the youkai, got ma throat ripped out. The usually." she shrugged.

"Where is your hand."

She patted her pants, noticing a lack of severed limb in her pockets "...Crap. I'll gef it later." she gave a casual grin.

"Ignoring her missing body parts, Kageshō is gone." Ran stated, Keine turning back to her.

"She was where you were going to search?"

"Yes, we confronted her and she attempted to flee. Mokou mutilated herself to injury her. Afterwards, between Yukari, the Hakurei and the Moriya maiden, she has been exterminated. She is no more."

"I see, that's a relief. Now I need to talk to the tengu now…" Keine whispered as she turned to walk away.

"If you're referring to the wolf tengu. I encountered her at the gate. She was told and has left, annoyed. She told me to inform you no payment is needed."

"Hmm, well that saves me time. Now, first things first, Yu, run and tell the Elder the youkai is gone!" she called to the door, the man from the library appearing, nodding "And second, Mokou, come with me. We need to cover your throat." she grabbed Mokou, leading her inside.

But before closing the door, she looked back at Ran.

"Thank you." she smiled as the door closed.

Ran nodded, smirking. First job, done. Now, Chen. Ran floated up past the school's roof and sped off.

* * *

 **Eientei patient room**

Marisa sat on her chair, tongue sticking out of her mouth. She needed to focus. She wasn't done yet. She knew there was a way to fix this mess. Marisa reached and grabbed her queen, moving it to take Chen's rook. The young nekomata smiled as she used her knight to take the queen while placing Marisa in check. Her eye twitched. This was the eight match this hour. She's bad at chess, she knows that. But Eientei only has a simplified shogi set and she knows the basic rules of chess. So how is Chen so good!?

Marisa moved her king. Chen moved her queen to the left.

"Checkmate!" she announced, making Marisa snap.

Marisa grabbed the board and flipped it, the pieces falling off all over the bed. Chen smiled as she sat down, pouting.

"Wanna another game?" she asked.

Marisa knew she was winding her up, but she didn't want to stop with the games. Chen wasn't paying attention to her leg, so technically it was working. But she didn't want more chess.

"How about zomething elze...you want me t' read ya a book or zomething?"

"I can read you know!" Chen folded her arms, glaring.

"Okay okay, juzt azkin'."

As the two talked, Clownpiece glanced at them. She was waiting around to see if they wanted her, but from the look of it, she wasn't needed. Good. She can go back to the shrine and...umm...damn it. She wanted to set up a prank on Reimu, but Yukari said…

She huffed. Maybe she can prank Sunny and co. Oh, she knows where Reimu hides the sake, she could mess with it and lead the three to it. Heh he, yeah, mix in something and watch as they freak up. Good, today's plan is ready. She hopped off her chair and wandered out of the room, finding Reisen working and Aya and Kagerou talking.

"Hey, umm, rabbit girl. I'm going home." she announced, Reisen only humming in response.

That's an answer, right? Clownpiece took it as one and walked towards the door, but staggered back as it opened, Eirin walking it. She looked down at the fairy, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you leaving?" she asked.

Clownpiece nodded. Eirin turned around and gestured to something out the door. A rabbit popped her head in.

"Lead this fairy outside please."

The rabbit nodded as she grabbed Clownpiece, dragging her out. Eirin closed the door and walked over to Reisen.

"How is everything?"

Reisen finally seemed to notice and jumped in response.

"Ahh, Master! Oh, umm, yes. Everything is fine. I've given Chen more painkillers and administered more of the cure to Alice and Seija. So, umm, why did you run off." Reisen listed of, ending it with a question.

"I read something within the report that made it necessary to rush to Reimu with the cure. In my haste I flew to the Scarlet's, not even considering she may not be there. She was, but...it's too late." Eirin sighed pulling out the vampire cure, the liquid still pulsing.

"What happened?"

"It has been 24 hours since she was turned, and the cure is no longer effective after 24 hours. Reimu is permanently a vampire now."

"Ohhh…"

Aya tuned into the conversation, taking her notebook back out.

"More for the story."

"Shouldn't you ask Hakurei before writing a story about her?" Kagerou pointed at the notebook.

"Why, it's my newspaper?"

"That's not the point I'm getting at."

Eirin ignored the youkai as she settled back to work, rewriting the blood soaked front page of the hemomorphic arcanteria report from the copy and with a lot of squinting at the back page. It needed to be done and with Reisen not making failures of medicine, she could afford to spend some time on it. Everything fell into a somewhat quiet peace for several minutes. She wasn't tracking the time. As she finished rewriting them and undoing the staple to restaple them, she heard a knock.

 _A patient?_

Before she could speak up, the door opened, Ran walking in.

"I've returned." she announced "You don't need to worry about the thief anymore."

"Oh, did you find and punish her? Banish or seal her?" Eirin looked up from her writing.

"She's been exterminated. She's gone."

Aya looked a bit deflated.

"Agh, I wanted to talk to her. It would have rounded everything off nicely at the end talking about her motive for...all of this mess." Aya muttered.

"She technically killed Seija, poisoned multiple youkai, broke the rules and corrupted the shrine maiden, meeting her would be a terrible idea." Kagerou listed, looking surprised.

"Yeah, but I wanna know why a youkai did all this stuff."

"She could be a remnant from the years of violent youkai attacks before the spell cards, refusing to adapt. Maybe she was from that hellscape Makai. She didn't seem like one to talk about herself. In the end, she was a dangerous rule breaker that screwed Gensokyo's balance up for possible years to come. That's all. Use that in your article." Ran theorised.

Aya nodded adding it to an already cramped page.

"Got it…"

Ran ignored her scribbling and entered the patients room, finding Marisa and Chen talking. A chess board and pieces lay strewn across her bed.

"Having trouble?" she asked reaching the bed.

Chen turned and her face lit up, the young girl leaning over and latching onto Ran.

"Why iz zhe zo good at chezz." Marisa complained looking up at her.

"I taught her shogi, chess, mahjong, and several other board games so I could play with someone who doesn't always win."

"Zo the hag."

"In blunt terms yes. I could never win against her, but with Chen, it's 1021-562 to me vs Chen."

"It's 8-0 to me vs Marisa." Chen gloated.

"Nugh, it'z not fair. It'z like zhe can predict every move!"

"Maybe she can." Ran smiled, Marisa's face scrunching up in annoyance.

Before she could continue, Eirin opened the door.

"Marisa, could you come here? I wish to talk to you about your nose."

Marisa rolled her eyes and huffed away, allowing Ran to sit down in her chair.

"How are you feeling?" Ran leaned in towards Chen.

"It still hurts, but Marisa hanging around made it feel less bad."

"Good."

"Sorry I made you worry…"

"You don't need to apologise for that."

Chen looked down and away, Ran leaning back, tails catching on the chair's back. Gods she hates these chair types.

Marisa walked out into the main room, finding Eirin gesturing to the examination bed Aya and Kagerou were on.

"Both out you go into the patient room, the surgery is now open and you can't be loitering in here." she ordered, the youkai compiling.

Marisa sat on the bed as Eirin pulled her chair over.

"Okay, now Marisa, are you still experiencing pain from your nose?"

"Yep."

"Okay, so the nerves haven't suffered any damage yet, good. Now, I've never made medicine to help in the repairing of bones before. I've never needed to. But I believe I can mix something up that could stimulate the production of cartilage in your nose from the chondroblasts, which will allow the bone to partial reform within a day. If set correctly, I could then stimulate the osteoblast to reform bone and allow it to heal within around three days. If the cartilage is malformed I can break and reset the nose and attempt again. Is this acceptable?"

Marisa gave a blank stare.

"Zound good to me I guezz. I've no clue how a bone'z meant to heal. If you zaid that'z how it workz, go for it." she shrugged.

"Excellent. I'll begin making it. Reisen, could you administer another dose of the cure to Alice and Seija? Use the unused anti-vampire version on Alice. It should help shorten the time needed for her to recover."

"Yes Master." Reisen nodded, grabbing the syringe.

"Oh yeah, ya went to cure Reimu right? How'd it go?"

"Due to it being 24 hours since she had been turned, I couldn't cure her. She's a vampire forever." Eirin causally stated turning away.

"...Wait what?!"

* * *

AN: EX 1 done.

So hopefully this gives you an idea of how these are going to work. Wrapping a few things up. Although saying that, this was planned to originally be three chapters before I realised that they together made around one chapter length. The next was going to be two but I'm going to mash them together...as soon as I've written them. I said I only post an EX chapter when I had two done...well, this one, and I've written three. Just gotta do two...

So yeah, few last things. First, the note up at the top, all chapters are going to have that just as an anchor point for the timeline...if you could call it that. Second, I'm writing this in France, so I made breakfast croissants. No other reason. Well, okay I also find the idea of Reimu attempting to eat it and it crumbling away into a mess of crust funny. And finally, sorry for the wait. The internet is spotty and just plain bad here.

Also, adding this after a few hours after writing the first part. Fix so plot holes a week or so ago. Like how Yukari forgot she saw Reimu in the maid outfit or Ran just, somehow discovering Reimu's a vampire twice. Whoops.

So yeah, review, Pm, this was meant to go live hours ago but while writing the AN the power went along with the internet. Joy.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	20. EX chapter 2

Chapter EX 2: I'm...still me

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

 **Note: Takes place before epilogue**

* * *

Reimu stirred, slowly opening her eyes. She felt exhausted. Sitting up, she looked around. Cold stone made up the walls of the room she was in. She was in a large bed, and finally there was a death grip on her arm. Next to her, Flandre was latched onto her, asleep. What was she...oh yeah.

 _ **Twelve hours, they had been at this for twelve hours...make it end!**_

" _ **Again Reimu. Channel the magic coursing through you to your head and hands! And remember that the incantation must be exact for the spell to function correctly. No mispronunciations allowed, unless you want to suffer magick feedback!" Patchouli ordered.**_

 _ **Reimu concentrated, focusing as hard as she could. The endless pulsing in her blood grew louder as it rushed to her head, a tingle in her hands.**_

" _ **Now speak the words to pull the energy out from you. Ignore the energies in the air, they will only destablise it. The sigil is small and simple, draw it quick, but precise!" she continued, Reimu struggling to hear over the pulsing.**_

 _ **The new vampire started muttering words she couldn't hope to understand, quickly sketching a circle with only three symbols within it, connected by a line. Reimu had no idea what any of it meant, just 'do this and spells happen.' Whatever happened, she doubted she'd become a witch. This stuff is so weird, how do Marisa and Patchouli learn all this stuff?**_

 _ **The sigil started to glow, before growing and scanning over Reimu, a similar feeling to when Yukari used the spell enveloping her, albeit much, much weaker. As it finished, the magic waned, fading into a glittering dust. Reimu stumbled, gasping.**_

" _ **...Good. Keep practicing that cantrip and eventually it will become easy. And after a while, you'll master it to the point of not needing the magic circle or words." Patchouli closed her book.**_

" _ **Why are spells so annoying..." Reimu panted.**_

" _ **They truly aren't in reality. You are simply a novice. With every spell learned and later mastered, the next spell becomes easier to learn. It helps to know Latin, English, Hebrew, Chinese, Greece and the ancient language of enochian as well. Even more if you wish to be a master. Magic and spells come in many forms from around the world, with others modifying and altering them while changing the language as they go. That spell was written in Hebrew but the incantation was Romanian. I only know a select few spells in Japanese. Your thief of a friend alters every spell she gets her hands on to work with exclusively Japanese words and symbols. If she wasn't so insufferable I would like learn her method. It is certainly interesting." Patchouli explained.**_

" _ **That would make her day hearing that." Reimu stood and stretched, noticing the sleeping Flandre on a chair "I can't believe she hung around to the end of this."**_

" _ **Hmm, I think she wanted to play with you when you were done, but you took so long she simply fell asleep."**_

" _ **(Sigh) Well the spell was annoying." Reimu picked her up "Where's her room?"**_

" _ **Follow me."**_

Yeah, that's about it. Reimu attempted to peeling Flandre off her arm, noticing just in time the opening maw. Reimu pulled her hand back as Flandre bit air, her teeth clacking together. Her vibrating teeth and jaw was enough to wake her up, the blond looking around.

"Hmm? This isn't the library…?" she yawned releasing Reimu.

"Yeah, you fell asleep waiting for me to finish."

"Oh...well, we can do stuff today than!" Flandre jumped up, smiling.

"Actually Flandre, I've been here for two days, I need to get back to the shrine."

As she finished, Flandre's face fell and her jeweled wings drooped.

"B-But…"

"I'm sorry Flandre. But...I guess, I can come hang out if I get some free time. Plus, I'm going to be around...a while I guess. We'll have more chances to 'play'." _Hopefully not too often._

Flandre undrooped, jumping at her.

"You promise? Your my sister now, you can't break promises!"

"Y-Yeah, I'll come hang out sometime…"

* * *

Reimu attempted to say a quick goodbye to Remilia and co, but she insisted on her drinking one final scarlet tea before leaving.

"I'll have a fairy bag up some of the immortal girl's blood and send it over for you to drink. Due to your financial status, I'll pay you in blood once a week if you come play with Flan every once and awhile." Remilia suggested, although the fact she needed blood to survive now meant it was more of a demand with a promise for pay. Ehh, if she has to.

"Sure. Not like I have a choice."

"If you come and I need help from more that my assistant, you can help and I'll teach you a spell I think would be useful, unless you know one yourself you wish to learn."

"Uhmm, got it."

Reimu was lead to the door, Sakuya handing her a thick black umbrella.

"Your's?"

Reimu nodded as she took the umbrella. But before she opened it. Hmm, might as well test it…

Reimu walked up to the door's threshold. Concentrating, she attempted to cast the sun block spell. Was that it's name? She didn't know, but hey, that's what it does. The pulsing grew louder as she channeled the magic into her head and hands, chanting coming soon after. She drew the symbols and soon it was scanning over her. Reimu relaxed and inhaled, walking out of the door. The felt hot, really hot. But she wasn't burning! Hah ha, she did it! Ignore her darkening hand it worked shut up.

Reimu out a pain yelp as she retreat back into the mansion.

"You didn't finish letting it protect you, it petered out as it reached your hand. Work on that." Patchouli explained.

Reimu gave a grumbling nod and opened her umbrella. Stepping outside, she realised that her wings were a bit bigger than she thought. If they sat directly behind her, they poked out the back of the umbrella. She moved them so they flanked her. They poked out more. She sighed as she pulled them in like yesterday sitting on the cliff. Her wings draped over her shoulders, the redish leather like skin covering her from her shoulders to her mid arm, partially covering her chest too. It looked a bit off, like a weird cape but they weren't exposed.

"See you later." she waved walking away, the residents of the mansion waving too.

Reimu passed through the gate, past a resting Meiling, and started her long walk home.

Although...she did have somewhere to visit first.

It was still early in the morning, so the air was quite cool. The wooded area around the SDM was dead quiet. It would be a good time to think. But apart from going to talk to Marisa, she didn't have a lot to think about, well okay she did but walking alone a forest trail wasn't the right time. She'd prefer to have existential thoughts at home. So, she walked in silence, focusing mostly on making sure she didn't go wrong. Reaching the misty lake cemented the fact she was on the right path. But as she walked along the shore towards the path she had run along two days ago, she heard something. It...sounded like rushing air. Something moving at speed? Reimu gazed skyward, having to move her umbrella enough to look past it without burning. And as she did, she saw something near right on TOP OF HER?!

Reimu jumped back as the object landed next to where she had been standing. The figure stood up, a cloud of kicked up dust falling. Aya gave a smirk.

"Hey Reimu, there you are. I've been looking for you since yesterday lunchtime." the tengu pulled free her notebook "Can I ask ya a thing or seven?"

"No Aya, I'm not going to be the centerpiece of another one of your 'news' papers." Reimu frowned.

"But I already have a decent amount of info and just what to cap it off with some from you."

Reimu wilted. She really didn't want to deal with her. At all. But if she was going to be writing a story anyway, than giving her information might make her not fill in the gaps herself.

"What?"

"Heh, good. I know a lot about what happened already. Vampired, wwnt to the Scarlets, cure didn't work, poisoned youkai. But I don't know one thing. That youkai...why'd she do it? You fought her right? She spill the beans?" Aya looked at her expectantly.

Reimu looked away from her. She didn't know. She, that girl, she didn't want to know. She, that...Kageshō...Kageshō...Kageshō... **KAGESHŌ…!**

Reimu snapped back to reality as Aya shook her shoulder.

"Hey, you okay, you're sparking." Aya pointed at her.

Reimu glanced down and noticed her hands were clenched and purple electric energy was leaking off her. She sucked in air.

 _Calm down, calm down...she's gone._

"No, I don't know, sorry. I don't want to know. She showed up at the mansion and injured Sakuya. Maybe she knows." Reimu suggested walking past her.

"Hmm, interesting. Thanks for the tip!" Aya thanked as she sped off.

Uhh, finally. Now, she just has to get to Eientei. And avoid the village. One is easier than the other.

* * *

 **Eientei surgery**

Marisa sat on the bed in the surgery as Eirin unwrapped her nose. The pain wasn't that bad today, plus the medicine she was given wasn't that bad. So far, her best visit...kinda. She's still mad she can't beat Chen at any games. For a girl who looks like she's 7 or something, she knows chess. And that checkers game Reisen found. Eirin pulled the last of the white dressing away and rubbed her chin, humming.

"What, is it bad?" Marisa asked, her words no longer distorted by the blocked nostrils.

Eirin showed her a mirror. Marisa examined her nose. It was red, a hint of dried blood escaping it. But the main bit was the tip was bent to the left slightly. If you looked you'd see it. Otherwise, it's not that noticeable.

"Eh, looks decent. We movin' onto the next bit?"

"Are you sure? I could break and reset if you wish. I could probably get the tip straight." Eirin pulled out a small angular hammer.

"Nah, it's fine. You'd barely notice it. As long as it isn't bent massively one way or the other it's fine." Marisa handwaved, smiling.

"As you wish, I can start making the next set of medicine soon, as long as there are no other patients."

"Cool, see ya." Marisa stood and walked into the next room.

The room was somewhat lively. Ran was playing chess and checkers with Chen...like at the same time. Okay. Kagerou was standing beside Seija, the two arguing. And Alice...she was still asleep. The two were slowly getting better. Seija's hand was the only purple part still, with the center pitch black. Alice though, her arm had mostly healed, but her neck and face still bore black and purple. Eirin said she wasn't sure when she would wake up. But maybe soon.

Marisa walked over to the bed to the left of Alice and sat down. With Aya gone and Ran and Kagerou not using beds, there were two spare ones. The two youkai's yelling grew louder as she sat there, so she decided to listen in.

"Come on, it'll be fun." Kagerou teased, wrapping an arm around Seija.

"How is making a house fun?" she scowled.

"It would be better than living in caves. Plus with me around, the bounty hunters might leave you alone. Orrrr, I could bring you in with the promise to reform you, get the money, than split it with you. Sound good?"

"But the mallet-?"

"Yeah, you'll have to lose it, but hey, you don't need it."

"I spent 8 years looking for that, and even longer for an Inchling to use it, I worked for that! And how else am I supposed to break into houses, steal a forger's hammer?" Seija spat.

"Or you could, not steal and live with me?"

"Why the f**k would I live with you?" a pawn flew across the room and hit her square in the head "OWWW!?" she yelled looking at Ran.

"Language." she glared at the amanojaku.

"Fine...b**th." she whispered.

It earned her a flick to the forehead.

"Seriously Seija. You can't live like an outcast barely holding onto her residence. Come on. Attempting to get over your inverted hate...thing might be good for you."

Seija just huffed, folding her arms.

Marisa bit her tongue to stifle her laughter. Seija going good. Gensokyo's falling apart at the seams.

As she held in a chuckle, Alice stirred. Marisa noticed the movement as Alice opened her uncorrupted eye, struggling with the darkened one. She groaned.

"Uuuuggghhh. I feel horrible…" the words barely made it out of her mouth before Marisa was next to her.

"Alice, you're awake!"

"Huh…? Marisa…? Why are you...where am I?"

"Eientei. They've been treating ya for poisoning."

"Eh? Poi...that youkai…! Marisa, a youkai, black h-hair-!" "She's been dealt with." Ran interrupted her "The Moriya shrine maiden exterminated her, with Reimu and Yukari's help."

"O-Oh…"

"Slow down Alice. You're not in the best shape. Ya gotta rest."

"Yes...you're right…" she closed her eyes, falling back to sleep.

"Cool, now all I got to do is get my nose fixed and talk to Rei-"

Reisen opened the door.

"Visitor for Marisa." she announced.

"Hgh?" Marisa whipped around to the door just in time for Reisen to push it fully open, Reimu walking in.

Marisa smiled, then noticed the large wings and red eyes.

"Heya Reimu...umm...lookin' good." she smirked.

Reimu just sighed.

* * *

Reimu felt a bit awkward sitting on the bed with Marisa, especially because Marisa was just staring at her with a smirk on her face.

"Sooo, how's bein' a vampire?"

"Alright I guess. Sun's a bit hot."

"Course it is." she smirk weakened "So, how are you?"

"Humf...I mean...alright I guess. I didn't exactly take the news I'm stuck like this...well. But I've calmed down a bit."

"Good, can't have ya being a crazy vampire living near alone in a mansion."

"I guess."

"So, what're plans?"

"Just, keep going like I have been I guess. No reason to stop. I don't know what I would do if I didn't." Reimu shrugged.

"Yeah, now you can be the maiden forever. So hey, if I ever have kids could you be free babysitting?" Marisa suddenly asked.

"Wait what?! Why are you asking that?"

"I mean, I can't have kids slowing me down and I won't wanna pay for someone, sooo…"

"Than don't have children!"

Marisa started to laugh at the irritated Reimu. She was doing it on purpose. Grr, damn it Marisa.

"How's flyin'?"

"It was annoying, but as long as the sunlight is blocked or it isn't out it's fine. Otherwise I have to walk because my legs and wings go past the umbrella's limit. I couldn't walk to Eientei because I didn't want to get lost, so I had to slowly hover above the stalks while holding the umbrella." Reimu admitted.

"Ha, bet that looked funny."

"It did…"

As she finished, the vampire stood.

"Well, I have to get back to the shrine."

"Well, I'll come visit in a few days. I can teach you a spell or something."

"Hmm, where'd that offer come from."

"Vampire's are super powerful with plenty of magic. I wanna see how well you do."

Reimu stared at the witch before shaking her head, walking out the door.

Reimu exited Eientei and hid under her umbrella. Okay, time to slowly fly over the bamboo and walk back. Uhh, why can't the spell work correctly! Oh yeah, because she's bad at magic. She should have asked Marisa to help her master the spell more. Or better yet, have her cast it. If she could. Sigh, well, she's got time. Reimu spread her wings to half their full width and flapped into the air, slowly hovering over the bamboo, carefully making sure she remains under the umbrella.

It took over 30 minutes again to hover over the greenery. Reimu landed and pulled her wings back in around her, nursing a few small burns that healed after a few seconds. And with that, she started walking again. Although this time, she knew she couldn't avoid the village. Ducking down the side path got her to the bamboo forest and she has no hope of going around the village in broad daylight. People certainly saw her in the morning. They will see her now. But...Keine knows, and may have told the villagers. And well…

She can't hide this forever.

Reimu walked in silence until she reached the 'main' path, turning towards the village. No use delaying, time to expose herself.

…! Wait no, that like that!

Reimu smacked her head. Stupid brain. She walked towards the village, passing through the farming area. Several human noticed her, freezing at the sight of her wings. She glanced at them, her stare making them look away instantly. Probably her eyes. She reached the gate and walked in, the village decently active. And she soon heard why.

"Ha, that youkai's dead?! Gods she didn't last long!" "You'd think she'd plan out how to survive or somethin'!" "Yeah, now we just gotta deal with the corrupt maiden!" several people were yelling, attempting to be heard over the other shouts that filled the air.

Although soon someone noticed the umbrella and upon noticing Reimu, fell quiet. The silence soon started to spread, more noticing her. Everyone except one who's back was turned.

"Wonder what's going to happen with the shrine maiden, I mean, she's as bad as all those youkai and weirdos that hang out at the shrine now. First she's a step down from her awesome mom and now she's a vampire. Talk about failure right? Wish I'd gotten to meet her mom, but she went and got mauled years before I could. Hah, and you'd think the corrupted maiden would have had something to protect herself or somethin'! Maybe she was too drunk or whatever!" he continued to spout his words, slowly digging his grave.

His friend was tugging his arm.

"Hey, you should stop." she whispered.

"Hmm, why? Hey, why's it quiet?" he turned and saw crimson eyes burning into him.

Reimu just stared, the teenager backing away.

"Uhh...sorry for talkin' 'bout your mom?" he shrugged, hoping it would appease her.

"What, are you expecting me to kill you? Drink you dry, blow you up? Explode in rage? I'm not going to. Yes, I'm a vampire now, if I could I would fix this. But I can't. I'm stuck like this. But that's not going to stop me. I get it, everyone thinks I'm a lousy maiden. Everyone now thinks I'm a failure. When I discovered this two days ago, I freaked out. I was terrified at what the village would think. And from the sound of it, yeah, you're not happy. Neither am I. But I always stopped incidents before they went too far. I can't use the Hakurei shrine maiden powers, no channeling the divine. The yin-yang orbs will probably burn me. But I'm not going to stop doing my duties. No one ever visits the shrine, now few will bother at all, but...I won't stop. I'm immortal now, so I'm going to guard Gensokyo forever. Write that down, and when your kids, kids, kids find it, they'll see I'm still working. Even when a new maiden comes along, I won't stop. I was scared of how everyone would react, and so far you lot are the only ones to act negatively. So keep your crap and your dumb rumours. They won't stop me from resolving incidents. Bye." Reimu finished her sudden speech, walking away.

Humans parted to let her through, and soon she disappeared into and past the crowd.

"S**t I thought I was dead…" the boy collapsed, sighing.

Most of the other villagers said nothing for a short while, slowly returning to their wanderings. After 10 minutes noise came back, although it barely reached a mummer.

As Reimu reached the exit, someone grabbed her shoulder.

"Nicely put."

Reimu turned to a smiling Keine.

"I didn't have a speech ready, it just...came out."

"Well, everyone knows your standing now. If you keep that promise, who knows, their descendants may actually come around."

"Maybe. Now, I need to get home."

Reimu escaped her grasp and walked out of the village. She made a big deal about keeping up her job. So now there's no way she would back down.

Reimu's walk home was uneventful. She passed by Kourindou, but she didn't want to talk to Rinnosuke. The forest of magic was quiet. Marisa and Alice were at Eientei and most youkai hid deeper in the treed area. And she met no fairies. But, after a long walk, she came to the stone stairs up to the shrine. She hadn't been here for two days. Had the fairies torn the shrine apart? Had Suika appeared from nowhere and drank all her alcohol? Who knows…

Reimu ascended the steps, reaching the red torii at the front of the shrine.

And she was instantly mad.

Clownpiece was standing in the center of the stone path, looking left and right. Luna was lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth. Sunny was rubbing her forehead with Star panicking and running from left to right. That wasn't the annoying part. Oh no, that was the fact there were several bottles of sake on the ground, with one dribbling it's contents onto the stone, a blue tinge to it. Plus there was a weird bottle made of...probably plastic? She's only ever seen it once or twice. A darker blue liquid was leaking out of that bottle.

"I'm gone two days, and this is what I get when I come back?!" Reimu cried, drawing the fairies attention.

"Hang on, I can explain. I didn't put Bleuch in the sake!" Clownpiece claimed backing away.

Reimu's eye twitched. She was going to run. But she needed to check on Luna. If only she had a second pers-oh wait. That spell card...well, she'd need to test it sometime.

Reimu walked over to the surrounding trees, Clownpiece looking confused.

"Reimu, what are you…?"

Reimu responded by reaching into her sleeve, pulling out a spell card.

"Congrats Clownpiece, you get to test this." Reimu held up the card, power sparking off it " **Fantasy sign: Doppelgänger mirage!"** Reimu yelled as the card disintegrated into mass of electricity.

As it enveloped her arm, the confused fairy realised she should run, so she did, flying away. Reimu ignored, more focused on the energy in her hand. Now, what nex-?

Shove it in your chest.

 _...What?"_

Do it!

Reimu didn't know who was speaking...maybe Copy? Oh well, she's used to just going with the flow with spell cards. So to answer the stray thoughts, she stabbed her chest with her arm, a pain erupting through her. She grabbed something, hard...pulsing. With a strong tug, Reimu ripped it out of her, leaving no hole in her. It was a ball of mist, swirling around in a confined ball shape. A glyph appeared next to her without prompt. So she dropped it into it. The ball burst as the mist spread out, ending at the glyph's edges. And from the mist and glyph, a woman rose up. She looked a lot like Reimu, save for the fact she was taller and wearing the Moriya shrine maiden outfit. She opened her crimson eyes, and smiled, exposing a maw of fangs.

"Holy s**t, I'm outta you! That's awesome!" Copy cheered, her form sparking and fading for a second.

"Gods damn it why are you wearing that!"

"I like it…" Copy pouted.

Wha-? It doesn't matter." Reimu remember the spell, concentrating on the magic in her. After forcing the magic to her head and hands, she chanted the cantrip's words and drew the circle and symbols. A glyph scanned Copy, just finishing as it faded to dust.

"I don't know how long you or that spell last, if it works at all, but go after Clownpiece!" she ordered, Copy saluting with a smirk.

"Ay ay me." she laughed as she exited the shade, the sun not burning her...that much "One fairy, coming up!" she jumped into the air, speeding after the speck that was Clownpiece.

Reimu grabbed her umbrella and walked over to the fairies of light.

"So what happened?"

"Clownpiece poisoned LUNA!" Star cried, tears escaping her.

"She promised sake and this happened. So we poured out all the bottles she gave us to make sure, sorry." Sunny added.

"Damn it, this is annoying."

As Reimu rubbed her head, someone cleared her throat. The three functioning people all looked towards the stairs, spotting a head of pink.

Kasen looked at the vampire Reimu, the poisoned Luna, and after the clone of Reimu that had sped off.

"What did I miss in the last week?!" she shouted as she stared at the mess in front of her.

"Hmm, I believe the correct term Marisa would use is...a s**t tonne." Reimu sighed.

* * *

AN: EX 2 done.

Originally this chapter was just going to be a long Marisa/Reimu thing. But I ended up writing a ton of other stuff before realising I forgot the Marisa bit and added it in, so it's a bit short. I've EX 3 done already, I just need to go over it a bit. I'll be ready Monday or Tuesday.

So this turned into a more...Reimu kinda comes to terms with being a vampire. Kinda. Also Marisa will never have kids. There's no proof of that...

Anyway, all that aside, this was the last chapter before years start skipping. There'll be 5 more EX chapters plus a thing at the end. So yeah, things are moving along.  
One last thing, might not write as often for a week or two, which will slow things down, but FE Three Houses came out, so I gotta persona emblem it up. I've played like two hours of it already and the school part made freak out for a good minute with how much there is.

Pm, review, hope everyone's fine.  
Anyway, enjoy.


	21. EX chapter 3

Chapter EX 3: Shura

 _Italics: character thoughts_

 _ **Bold italics: Past events**_

 **Note: Takes place before** **epilogue**

* * *

 **~12 years after vampirism, Hakurei shrine~**

Reimu was annoyed. Like, immensely pissed off. Today was the day she was supposed to clean the shrine grounds to an inch of the stone path and stairs turning to dust and paint the aged wood and stone parts of the shine with new coat of paint and sanding down the rough surfaces. She even managed to get the fairies to agree to help! Do you know how much of an accomplishment that was fate!? But now? The world said screw that, have two problems instead.

The first? Rain. It was torrential, walking out in it would soak you to the bone within a few seconds. Clownpiece had already refused to even consider going out in that. She was sat on the mat covered wooden floor by the door, staring out.

The second? An annoying little oni asleep on the table with three cups by her feet and a broken one pierced on her horn. How did she get that on it, it should have shattered!

"Suika, get up." Reimu nudged her with a foot, the girl rolling off the table.

"Ummmhhaa? Nnnaahh." she slurred, completely out of it.

Reimu grabbed a bottle off the ground. 'Oni style century sake' was scrawled on a peeling piece of paper.

 _Oh yeah, this stuff. Yuugi gave me five bottles of this 5 years ago and said to wait 60 years before trying it to let it weaken, least I test if vampires can die via alcohol poisoning._ Reimu commented internally.

"You only had one and you're this bad? Gods, how strong is this?"

Clownpiece walked over and poked Suika.

"Is she okay?" she asked as the oni started to gurgle.

"She's an oni. So...yes?"

The two were interrupted by a crack of thunder, Clownpiece flinching.

"It's really bad out there."

"Yeah, if we hadn't fixed the roof last year we'd be washed out probably."

As the two stared out into the rain, Reimu spotted something. A dot in the sky, barely visible through the haze of rain. It started to grow until Reimu noticed a familiar black and white colouration.

"No, not in this weather…" Reimu shook her head as the dot turned into a sitting humanoid.

No, not even Marisa would brave this weather…

The person looked like they were sitting on a broom, rain pelting them. And...there was a second shape too. The speeding witch practically crashed onto the stone path, grabbing a small person wrapped in a weird yellow shiny coat. Her hat had all but collapsed from the water and her outfit was clinging to her. She ran into the shrine, water flowing off her.

"Yo need help." she placed the small person, obviously a child, down and ran into her side room.

Reimu crouched down and peeled the yellow coat off the child, his dirty blond hair sticking to his head. He was shivering and wailing, his black robe falling off him from the water's weight. He looked miserable.

"Marisa, what are you doing here?! Who is this!" she yelled after the witch, who ran out with two towels she had taken from the side room.

"Sorry sorry, give me a sec." she started to dry the boy, the towel quickly becoming saturated.

She stripped off the robe and dried his body, even his underwear wet. She wrapped it around him as she ran over to the old furnace in the corner of the room. She grabbed a log that was beside it and pulled out her mini-hakkero, the device letting out a spark that ignited the wood. She threw it into the furnace before adding more, a fire growing in size.

"Shura, come over her." she beckoned him over, the freezing boy sitting next to it.

She turned back to a confused Reimu.

"Okay, so you probably want an explanation."

"Yes…"

"Well, my roof collapsed and flooded the house. It's as wet inside as out. Yu was terrified that Shura'd catch something in the flooded house, which I'll admit, I get it. A floodin' house in the freezing cold is not good for ya. I brought him to Kourindou first cuz it's closer and it was flooded too. The village looked like a messy brown mud puddle. So the next best thing I could think of was the shrine." Marisa explained, wringing her hat out, making a puddle.

"Does Yu know you brought him here? You know he hates me and swore 'to protect his son from that false maiden of the night!'" Reimu looked up and shook her fist in fake fury, copying Marisa's husband's dramatic vow.

"I think Shura being safe and dry is more important than that." Marisa smirked.

"You need to dry off too, you're going to catch something."

"Naw, I'm fine!"

"You're 33 and soaked, not a 16 and dry."

"No seriously, no time. I gotta get back and help attempt to save some stuff from melting in the rain. My workshops holdin' up fine-ish and after everything's shoved in there and we squeeze in there'd be no room for Shura. I'll come get'em in a day or two once the rain stops and we drain the house enough to live in it. Bye!" she donned her hat and sped out the door, Reimu running after her up to the cusp of the frame.

Great, just great, add a 5 year old to the list of problems she has along with rain blocking repairs and a drunk oni. Reimu scratched her head and looked at the boy, who was boring into her with a stare. She walked over and sat down.

"Sooo...hi there. My name's Reimu, acting shrine maiden. You're Shura right?" the boy nodded "Nice to meet you I guess. Your dad doesn't really like me much so I never got to meet you until now."

Shura continued to stare with bright blue eyes, Reimu glancing around nervously. Uhhh, what do you do with children. She's never really had to deal with them. Well, except her sis-...ahem...Flandre. And she was easy to please, just fight each other or draw. Oh yeah, she could let him draw, she has ink...somewhere...Clownpiece can help.

"Are you a youkai?" she heard a whisper and she looked back at Shura.

"Well, a vampire. Not really a youkai but somewhat close."

"Daddy and Mommy yell a lot when they talk about youkai. Daddy says you're all evil and stuff and Mommy says to be nice to them and you're friendly. I don't get it…all the other kids say that they eat you if you're mean and'll steal you from your home at night." he rattled off, barely stopping for a breath.

"Uhhh, yeah the village has a bad impression of youkai and your Dad hates them. Your mom has a habit of hanging out with them."

"...Are you...Aunt Reimu?" he asked.

"A-Aunt?!"

"Mommy says my aunt lives in a shrine. So are you Aunt Reimu? Daddy said I shouldn't try and meet you." Shura added.

 _Gods damn it Marsia._ "Umm, yeah, that's me...I guess…" she muttered the last part.

"Mmm…" Shura turned back to the furnace as Reimu stood and grabbed his clothes.

They were dripping, the heavy robe weighing even more from the water. She walked across the room over to her bedroom, the near empty room accented only by a rolled up futon and an old metal boiler for heating water for baths and clothes + bowl, cup and plate washing. Reimu ignited the magic conductor with a spark, the metal growing hot within a few seconds. She lay the robe down to dry as she heard a clatter.

Reimu groaned and ran back into the main room to find Suika had rose up and jumped onto the table.

"I'mma up and r-r-(hic) reassche to go! Let's get painting." she slurred, even more drunk than normal.

"Suika, get down! It's raining outside, so no work today plus you're piiiiiiiiiilastered." Reimu remembered the young boy mid word.

"I'm fine Reimu, I promicsed to help, so help ya get." she smile hopping off the table.

"No you're not." she grabbed an arm, which made Suika smirk.

"Yop." Suika turned and heaved Reimu over head, slamming her into the floor, the vampire releasing her in shock.

"Fine than." Reimu frowned, summoning a glyph behind her "Some force is needed."

Her arms started sparking as Suika smiled, getting into a stance. Clownpiece jumped between them.

"Umm guys, bad place for this don't you think?! And the human boy!"

Reimu ignored her before opening her clenched fist, mumbling a string of words under her breath, a smaller sigil forming and running down her arm. She finished the low chant by burying her hand into her chest. She ripped out an orb of swirling red, no hole in her visible and threw it into the glyph. The vertical glyph went horizontal, the orb bursting and spreading a mist through it. It flashed, before a person slowly rose from the magic circle. She bore a striking resemblance to Reimu, save for being taller and wearing a white top and blue skirt. She opened her eyes and grinned.

"Yo, Copy at your service!" she announced hopping off the purple glyph.

She seemed to lack some form though, flickering from fully there to slightly translucent.

"Copy, grab Su-oh for gods sake I said not to wear that!" Reimu cried looking at her.

"I like Sanae's colours." her grin grew as she said that.

"Just grab her!" Reimu ordered.

"Hey, no chseating!" Suika yelled as Copy rushed her, grabbing her horns and pushing her down.

"Heh he, thought oni's were meant to be strong." she teased as Suika flailed around.

Reimu walked around to the downed drunk girl and changed her arm, electric energy arcing off it. And with a single blow, she knocked her out with a magic assisted chop.

"There, hopefully she sobers up with a little sleep."

Clownpiece looked dumbstruck.

"I thought you needed spell cards to make your clone?"

"One, not clone. And two, spell cards make her stay longer or make her stronger, the spell just lets me take her out for a few minutes." Reimu explained.

"Yup, I wished you'd let me stay longer, I wanna meet your friends." she pouted in fake hurt, Reimu scowling.

"No way."

"Was that magic?" a voice asked.

Reimu froze. Crap, Shura!

"Hey, you alright?" she stepped over Suika and knelt down.

He nodded.

"Good, and yeah, a little. Just a spell to rip out a vampiric split personality plus channeling my natural magic to make some lightning." Reimu snapped her fingers, a spark coming off them.

The boy's eyes lit up.

"Can you teach me!" Shura jumped to his feet, the towel falling off him.

"Wha-?" "Mommy's always too busy and Daddy says it's too dangerous but I-I-achoo!" his excited yelling is stopped by a sneeze, followed by two more.

"Hey, calm down. You have to stay warm." Reimu wrapped the towel around him as Copy lent down to his level.

"Ahh, ya have a fan! Congrats on getting a human to like ya." she smiled, exposing her fang filled maw.

Shura shied away from the doppleganger, Reimu punching her.

"Don't scare her. Hey Clownpiece, do you have a spare outfit?"

The fairy frowned.

"Yeah, one in case mine gets dirty. Made it from the leftovers of a flag that the junk guy found. Not the best quality." she shrugged.

"Go get it, Shura's clothes will take awhile to dry."

"Uhh, he's shorter than me and a boy, will it fit?"

"Better than a damp towel."

"I guess. I'm not going to the outside door though...hey, vampire Reimu, are you strong?"

"Like this, weaker than Reimu, but yeah decently."

"The inside door is rusted, bash it open." Clownpiece pointed to the door at the back of the room leading to the ladder to the basement.

"Got it!" she saluted and flew over to the door, opening it and jumping down the hole.

"Wait Copy don't br-!" a cry echoes up the hole as the sound of flesh on metal follows.

"One...two...three!" a horrid screech sounded as metal clanged and scratched stone "...Got it!"

"Awesome!" Clownpiece cheered and flew into the hole.

"Uhhh! All my friends are idiots!" Reimu slammed her head into the wall.

Muffled running and talking escaped the hole as Shura watched the scene with confused curiosity. Reimu turned back towards the room and walked over to a shelf, grabbing an iron pot and a few cups. She moved into the side room and hooked the handle onto a water pump at the back of the room. She filled the pot and grabbed a wrapped bean cake, aka the only food she had that wasn't jars of blood. She didn't really eat anymore, they're more for guests and Clownpiece. She placed the pot on the furnace and handed him the cake, the pale orb looking...alright.

"Sorry, this is the only food I have. You like tea?"

He bit into the dough, red goo bursting onto his face. He grimaced.

"Eww, it tastes like metal."

"What?!" she snatched it off him.

She licked it. It...it was filled with blood!?

"Hey spit that out!" she yelled, Shura compiling and spitting the chewed mush to the floor.

She flew over to the side room and grabbed the last towel and a glass, filling it with water. She returned and used it to wipe his face.

"Swirl this around in your mouth and spit into the towel."

He followed her commands, the towel staining red. She ran back to the sheaves as Clownpiece surfaced. There were two piles, with one having a note on them.

'Thank you for looking after Flan, got Sakuya to make these. Remilia.' She sighed grabbing one from the other pile, ripping it open to expose a gooey paste. Bean paste. She stunk it together and returned, handing it to Shura.

"Sorry about that. Clownpiece, did we get a delivery from the Scarlets?"

"Hmm...oh yeah, knew I forgot something. Some cake things, put them on the food shelf."

Reimu groaned. Thanks for telling her…

"Oh yeah, the clone disappeared." Clownpiece added.

"Good."

Shura devoured the cake in seconds, drinking the water after. Reimu grabbed outfit the fairy was holding. It was red and white with a leaf on the left side. Is this even the same flag design? Doesn't matter. She lifted up his arms and slid the dress onto him, the outfit baggy on his small frame, sleeves too long. The knee length socks were next, although they went to his upper thighs.

"These are girl clothes!" he huffed, frowning.

"I know, but they're better than nothing. When your clothes dry we can get you into them." Reimu retorted.

He frowned deeper as the pot boiled, Reimu grabbing it and placing it onto the short table. She made up three cups of tea.

"Here."

Shura took the cup.

"Is there sugar?"

"Ew, sugar's gross." Clownpiece chimed in, grabbing a cup.

"Nuh huh, Mommy always lets me put sugar in tea."

"Sorry, got none."

Shura went silent. No one spoke for a while, the three slowly drinking as the rain hammered the world outside. After what felt like forever, Shura turned to Reimu.

"So, umm...you can use spells and stuff right?"

Reimu glanced at him.

"Yep. A small select few."

"Can you teach me?"

Reimu slowed her drinking. Hmm...he said something like that earlier too. Shura's only like five right? Too young to be learning that kind of thing. Although Marisa learned the basics from Rinnosuke when she was five. Hmm, no, bad idea. Not this young.

She didn't need another Marisa.

"Sorry Shura, you're a bit young to start learning magic, don't you think?" Reimu answered, noticing instantly the boy was upset.

"It's not fair. Mommy knew magic when she was 5! She said so! I don't wanna be a librarian like Daddy."

"Hey, calm down. I said you're too young, so wait til you're a little older, than maybe…" that seemed to brighten his mood "As long as you can come here without your dad exploding."

Shura froze.

"Nononono not literally!"

After the tea was finished, Reimu went rummaging and dug up ink and some poor paper that hadn't seen use in years. She left Shura to draw with Clownpiece as she wandered into her room to sit down, a headache gripping her. She hates these, a sign that Copy wanted to talk, but she didn't want to sleep yet with Shura in the next room, so with a quick spell, she tore Copy out of her again. This time dress in a Hakurei shrine maiden outfit.

"Thank you."

Her taller counterpart smirked.

"Gotta make sure you're happy. Now, I wanna ask you something."

"What?"

"Are ya gonna teach the kid magic?" Copy asked.

"I mean, maybe in 2 or 3 years. Maybe, if he's lucky."

"Humf, cool. I just wanted to ask if you know how to teach channelling magic?"

Reimu opened her mouth, before shutting it.

"Yeah, thought so, Patchy taught ya a few spells, but not the raw stuff. That was natural because of me." she dug her thumb into her shoulder "But if you were gonna teach him, well, I could show ya how that channelling works so you could show'em." Copy suggested.

"You could have waited for a few years to tell me that, I didn't need to know that now." Reimu sighed, her copy laughing.

* * *

The day passed slowly.

Shura grew bored of drawing after a while, so Reimu had to switch it up. He insisted on magic, claiming it would pass the time. When his suggestions failed again he moved onto sulking. But even that grew boring. Reimu lacked toys for him to play with, she didn't have those 'movie' or 'tv' things Sanae said people use to pass the time in the outside world. The shrine had little in the form of entertainment. Most of the fun during parties came from stories or drunken antics. Stories...hey, that could pass the time...for a bit anyway.

"Hey Shura, do you want to hear some stories about the incidents of Gensokyo to pass the time?"

He looked surprised for a second, before nodding.

"Mommy's talked about some of them, but always got stopped by something or Daddy before she finished."

"Hmm, so, what do you want to hear about? My first incident when I was 17 and had to fight the Scarlets? How me and your mother freed a youkai loving monk? When Gensokyo was near destroyed by weird stones that tore holes in the barrier? When the shrine got thrashed by a celestial…" she muttered the last one.

"Mommy say ages ago something happened to someone, like 12 years ago that messed up everyone, I wanna hear that one!" he yelled, hopping up and down.

"What…?"

"Umm, she said there were vampires and a youkai that was mean doin' stuff and she did something to her friend. She always gets angry when she thinks of it. Umm, she said Kag something once, the youkai!"

Reimu locked up. Oh...he meant what happened to her...12 years ago. W-Why that...why does he want to hear that...no. It's fine. It's been 12 years. She's fine, fine, fine, **fine, fine fine fine FINE FINE FINE!** Reimu sucked in air. Calm down. It's a just a story now.

She can't change the past.

"Heh, s-sure. I'll start at the very beginning. 12 years ago, I…"

* * *

 **Hours later**

Reimu was surprised how fast time passed with a story. After the first story, she told him about loads of other incidents from the previous years. Scarlet mists, fairy wars, the moon, hell and the in between. She even added the incident from 6 years ago when the humans in the village were being terrorised by riled up beast youkai wreaking their crops in a rage. Gods that one was messy, especially when that naginata tsukumogami showed up to reveal she was the cause in some twisted attempt to make her old owner suffer. Too bad he had died 30 years before hand and that's why he abandoned her. She refused to accept that and ended up getting sealed by Sanae after she lashed out at the village after losing to her and Reisen in a spell card duel, uhhh just thinking about it makes her head hurt. But Shura really liked that one. Which was a bit weird...and worrying to be honest. Reimu realised after a while she was feeding his imagination and making him what to learn magic more so he could go help with incidents and fight people. But it was keeping them busy, so she'd deal with it later. Although soon she ran out of stories, and was left with a hyper child.

"Wow, Mommy and you flew and boom and bam and and…!" he jumped up and down mock posing and 'casting' "Mommy sounds awesome and you're so cool and all the fairies and the underground and-!" he jumped onto Clownpiece, laughing.

The fairy had to back away from the boy, groaning. It was a little much of her, having gotten used to a more calm atmosphere from hanging out with Reimu for over a decade. He was more hyper than the three fairies of light. Even Cirno. Reimu grabbed him as she gazed outside. The rain had slowed dramatically. By morning it should either stop or be a drizzle. Maybe she should bring him to Marisa's in the morning to check on her. She'd probably like that. Than to the village. Just anywhere to waste time. As Shura continued to run around, escaping her grip, Reimu left the room and checked his robe on the boiler. It was boiling hot, but still damp. She took it off and examined it properly. Mostly black, with white sleeves. Looking at it, Reimu realised it looked like a robe from that book Marisa had as a kid. She still remembers the design. It was where Marisa got her outfits design from. It was a mini wizard robe. All he needed was a hat, and knowing Marisa he probably has one and it just wasn't brought. She laid it back onto the boiler. By morning it should be dry. Hopefully. She grabbed a clock in the corner. 9pm. She had told him 8 hours of stories. Maybe she should write these down and make a book...nah, that's what Akyuu does. Well...did...damn it now she's sad. Stop, stop. Gotta get Shura ready for bed.

Reimu returned to find Shura running around with Clownpiece's hat on with the fairy chasing.

"Shura, it's 9, time for bed. In the morning I'm going to bring you to see your mother and than into the village to waste the day.

The boy slowed and pouted.

"I'm not tired thou-?!" Clownpiece grabbed his head, tearing the hat off.

"Mine." she spat as she flew over to the back door and descended to the basement.

"Come on, you've been good all day, don't ruin it." she grabbed his hand and lead him into the bedroom, unrolling the futon.

Shura climbed in, Reimu leaving of a minute before returning in a white night robe. She crawled in beside him.

"Sorry for the sharing, I only have one."

"It's fine. But, umm, Aunt Reimu, why are you cold?"

"It's...a vampire thing."

He nodded as he turned away from her. She lay in silence waiting for sleep. Today was a bit different than how she planned, but over all, it was-

A crash made them both jump.

"Stay here." she whispered exiting the futon and walking out to find a stumbling Suika.

"Ready for work!"

Gods damn it...

* * *

AN: Number 3 of the EX chapters is done.

Meet Shura, Marisa's son and the father of Seiho, the girl from the epilogue. The next chapter will involve more of him as well.

Also, as I said, years are skipping.

Review, Pm, hope people are still enjoying this.  
Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

 **Adding this quickly before I post this:** And a finally thing, I don't really want to say this but I just need to say something real quick. Could people not argue I the review, please? Give me criticize or point out spelling errors or whatever you want but don't fight there. Use Pms for that. Thanks.


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